GALION — Thirteen local emergency agencies recently participated in the Crawford County Emergency Management Agency tabletop exercise at the Polk Township building.

Attending agencies included those from fire and police departments, ambulance services, the American Red Cross, hospital services and other EMAs from Crawford, Marion, Richland and Wyandot counties.

The tabletop exercise is a hands-off exercise based on conversations between agencies on how the groups would interact in the case of a catastrophic incident in the county.

The scenario included a two-vehicle crash on CH 330 near Bucyrus Reservoir 2, with one of the vehicles being a tanker filled with chlorine.

Crews were tasked with dealing with the injuries suffered in the crash, chlorine in the air and water supply affecting nearby residents and other outside factors such as media in the area.

“We’re testing our emergency operations plan,” Crawford County EMA Director Kirk Williamson said. “Ohio Revised Code requires us to test our plan annually and being able to get in and talk through that plan better prepares us for the future.”

Williamson said the exercise helps bring things to light that some people may not be thinking of. He said with so many agencies working together, it helps know what each is doing such as firefighters knowing what is happening at the hospital when patients arrive.

He said each unit has its own protocol, but each agency needs to know what all the other agencies do.

“It’s very beneficial to have that communication to have everyone on the same page,” Williamson said. “You have got to be seamless when you (respond to a crisis).”

Williamson said even though the exercise situation seems large and extensive, he said it could happen at any time. He said that the training also applies when the incident is on a smaller scale.

Williamson said he believed the work done by the agencies and the responses given by the judges, many of which were EMA directors of neighboring counties, showed the exercise to be a success.

He said the main focus for everyone involved is to remember they are training to keep the community safe.