County's First Responders, Agencies and Businesses Carry Out Emergency Drill

As Barrow residents went about their day, the county's first responders and various organizations and businesses carried out a table top drill recently.

The scenario? A train hit a tractor-trailer that was on the railroad tracks at North Broad Street and pushed it to the Center Street crossing on a Friday morning. This caused fuel tanks to rupture on the locomotive, possibly rupturing containers of hazardous materials.

A Local Emergency Planning Committee carried out the drill, which included establishing evacuation areas. Participants worked together to establish priorities, handle the scene, develop information to be released to the media and general public and on other aspects of the drill. Professionals from different departments, agencies and businesses were on hand to offer advice, handle parts of the emergency and work with the others involved to mitigate the situation.

The drill lasted for several hours and included plans being enacted to evacuate schools and businesses in the area. Shelters were established and Barrow Regional Medical Center's emergency room was set up to treat and decontaminate all patients from the scene.

“These table top training sessions are a valuable tool for our emergency responders,” LEPC President Mike Williams said in a news release. “It gives them an opportunity to get to know one another and work together.”

Participants in the emergency drill included representatives from the , the , , the , the , Jackson EMC, the Barrow County Board of Commissioners and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, , HS Feldman, First Environmental, , , , Northeast Georgia Health District, the , Barrow County Schools, Amateur Radio Emergency Services, , Rhodia and the American Red Cross.

“We are fortunate to have leadership in Barrow County that supports this type of training and cooperation,” Williams said in the release.