By Wayne Gates – 

Firefighters, EMS workers and law enforcement officers from two states responded to Aberdeen on Saturday, December 8 for a live disaster drill.
For four hours on Saturday morning, participants coordinated a response to a simulated chemical spill after a barge crash on the Aberdeen side of the Ohio River.
The exercise was full scale in every way, from firefighters in full gear to actual calls on communications channels.
The idea was to look for gaps in coordination, communication or any other issues that would impede the efficiency of a response in the event of a real disaster.