SPOKANE, Wash. -- Earthquakes, active shooters or chemical spills are just a few of the scenarios first responders must be ready for.
Over the next two weeks fire crews from around the region will come together to train for mass casualty situations.
Firefighters in our region want to be prepared and improve their skills for hazardous materials incidents.
On Tuesday, a few firefights from throughout our region participating in drill where a fuel tank ruptured.
"The scenario here there's been a release of a product that has contacted numerous victims. They're going to have to de-con all the victims before we can transport them to the hospital," said Spokane County Fire District 9 Division Chief Nathan Jeffries.
Jeffries said drills like these are a chance for fire departments to train for an incident that requires a large amount of resources.
"We have the same potential that any other city has for a hazardous materials incident," he said.
Jeffries said the drills help departments evaluate what additional equipment they may need in the event of hazards material incidents. It also allows them to see where they should make changes in their current emergency plans.
"Our emergency plans we have written out that pre-plan for these type of incidents, we evaluate those to see if they're current and see if we need to make some changes. In drills like this in the past we have adjusted our plans because we found a better way and a more efficient way to respond to an emergency," he said.
Next week, fire crews will head to Fairchild Air Force Base for chlorine gas leak training.