Various agencies and organizations in the Hall County area gathered Friday at Lanier Technical College for an emergency response drill with hopes of preparing for any possible large-scale emergency incident.
The drill saw a small amount of ammonia released in a controlled and sealed environment at Lanier Technical College's Ammonia Refrigeration Training facility to simulate an ammonia leak. Participating agencies were then tasked with responding to the scene as they would in a real-world hazmat incident with injuries or fatalities.
"This is a real incident. It's simulated, but it's still real. [The crews] still have to make sure everything is done correctly," Josh Sheridan, Division Chief with the Gainesville Fire Department said.
The drill included participation from the Gainesville Police and Fire Departments, Hall County Fire Rescue, Hall County Sheriff's Office, Hall County Emergency Management, Jackson County Sheriff's Office and EMS and more. Additionally, local organizations in the private sector such as John Soules Foods, Mar-Jac Poultry and Americold participated in the drill.
"The simulation is here to identify areas where we can improve at a potential hazmat incident," Hall County Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Kimberlie Ledsinger said. "I think the best thing we can do is prepare as much as possible since it has happened."
Derreck Booth, public information officer with the Hall County Sheriff's Office, said emergency response drills also give the various agencies a chance to work on communication and coordination in case a large-scale incident breaks out in the area.
"It's certainly better to train as a large group, and find where you might have holes or pin holes in your plan, and make those corrections and be able to move forward in an efficient manner and do a great job with serving the citizens and saving lives," Booth said.
Additionally, Lt. Kevin Holbrook with the Gainesville Police Department said the event gave area agencies the chance to build on relationships with those in the private sector. Ryan Reeves, PSM Manager at John Soules Foods, said the experience the business gained during the drill will help them stay prepared for any emergency scenarios at their facilities.
"John Soules participated as a player," Reeves said. "We actually had a crew of two who were the first ones to go in the building, which is crucial, because a lot of these guys haven't been a part of a leak. So them being able to see an actual leak ... you can't really ask for anything better to prepare yourself for something actually happening at our facility."
Tim McDonald, president of Lanier Technical College, said he was happy to allow area agencies to use Lanier Technical College as their training ground for the drill.
"We have a world-class ammonia refrigeration training lab that's very similar, if not identical, to most of the cooling engine rooms and processing plants and cold storage," McDonald said. "This gives us an opportunity to bring other community agencies, our business partners in for a training exercise using real equipment, live scenario without impacting anyone's operation."
Lt. Holbrook with Gainesville Police said while the scenario in this instance involved a hypothetical ammonia leak, the drill helped prepare area agencies for any large scale incident, not just a hazmat scenario.
