Nearly two thousand people will take part in emergency exercises across Pueblo Wednesday.
The exercises are part of an annual drill at the Pueblo Chemical Depot to test responses to emergency situations.
As part of the exercises, there will be two staged disasters. One ‘disaster’ will take place at the chemical depot, and the other will happen elsewhere in the county.
First responders will dress in protective equipment and among their duties will be tending to accident victims that will have very realistic fake injuries. About 30 agencies are expected to take part in the drills.
A depot official told News 5 that when an emergency situation does arise, their goal is to protect the onsite chemical stockpile. "During any emergency response similar to the fires that we’ve had recently around the depot, we would maintain the safety and security of the stockpile at all times. We practice and train for these type of contingencies."
The chemical stockpile or mustard agent is stored in secure igloos designed to withstand natural events like fire. The igloos include fusible links that melt under extreme heat, which then causes the vents to close and prevents any flames or sparks from entering the igloos.
The exercises begin around 8:30 Wednesday morning and should end early in the afternoon.
