GENTRY — Learning how fire departments would respond in real time to a hazardous materials call was part of the goal of a hazardous materials training exercise held in Gentry on Oct. 10.

Fire departments and hazardous materials units from nine area fi re departments took part in a training exercise and responded as they would if a real call had come in and an agency requested their assistance.

It began about 9 a.m., in a storage building at the old Allen Canning Plant in Gentry. Smoke could be seen coming from the building as fi refi ghters from Gentry arrived at the scene. Firefi ghters cut the chain on a locked gate and made entry, determinedhazardous materials were involved and then backed out, calling for assistance from area Haz-Mat teams and establishing a perimeter.

Assisting Haz-Mat units responded in real time, coming from Bentonville, Bella Vista, Siloam Springs, Rogers, Springdale, Fayetteville and Benton County Emergency Management. Working together, they completed the training drill as if real hazardous materials were present.

Overall, the training exercise was a success, according to Vester Cripps, Gentry’s fire chief. But success does not mean everything went perfect.

“We found some defi cincies to address,” Cripps said, explaining that the purpose of the drill was to fi nd those things that needed to be worked out and resolved before a real call is received.

Sports, Pages 11 on 10/23/2013