When a disaster strikes, some of the first people on the scene are typically local emergency personnel.

But that doesn't happen by chance, in fact, it takes a lot of practice to respond in the proper fashion.

Today, several area emergency groups gathered for a training exercise at Gavin Yards outside of Minot.

Ward County sponsors the event, which includes a train derailment and chemical spill scenario.

An initial response is made by the Minot City, Minot Rural, and Burlington Fire Departments, who secure the contaminated area before a haz-mat team arrives on the scene.

Burlington Fire Chief, Kevin Archer, says Minot's anhydrous derailment is a big reason why they conduct the exercise, and although it doesn't happen every day, it's important to be ready.

(Kevin Archer, Burlington Fire Chief) "We need to do this, so that if we do have them, we're better prepared. We don't deal with this on a day-to-day basis, so it's something we need to stay on top of and learn the new techniques of handling situations and it's just good training for us. A lot of them, it's their first time dealing with a major incident like this and they're kind of excited to learn. They've sat in classrooms for years training about them, but they've never actually gotten to do a lot of it, so they're putting what they've learned to use."


Archer says the exercise is held about every two years, and they also receive help from groups like Trinity emergency personnel and the American Red Cross. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list