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Mock disaster drill brought emergency personnel from several counties to Jacobson Park

Posted at 4:19 PM, Sep 18, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-18 19:12:33-04

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Emergency personnel in several counties in our area put their skills to the test on Wednesday as part of a mock disaster drill.

LEX 18's Mike Valente went to Jacobson Park for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program.

At Jacobson Park on Wednesday, decontamination tens were set up along with a large mobile medical services bus.

High school students were there to play along with the mock disaster drill and bused to an open-air space after having been exposed to dangerous chemical agents.

Since the 1940s, more than 500 tons of chemical weapons have been idling at the Bluegrass Army Depot. This past summer, LEX 18 learned that a project to destroy the stockpile of chemical weapons is set to begin.

In a few years, this disaster drill may no longer be needed.

"One of the reasons this is so important is because right now the chemical stockpile is going through the neutralization process... So over several years we are neutralizing those agents... So they won't be here, but while they are here... It is important to train," said Captain Jessica Bowman with the Lexington Fire Department.

This is a large scale operation that involves agencies from ten counties. It has been going on every year since 2005, but soon, it may be a thing of the past.