MISSOULA — It was not an emergency but a hazardous materials training that took place at Glacier Ice Rink at the Missoula Fairgrounds on Thursday.
The training was for the Missoula Regional Response Team, which includes the city and rural fire departments.
The simulated emergency appeared real, but there was no threat to the public or first responders.
Thursday’s training exercise ran from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and involved a hazardous materials response.
Crews were briefed on a simulated leak before entering the facility in full hazardous materials protective suits.
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"Today we're doing a training exercise simulating that the Glacier Ice Rink had an ammonia leak and what our response would look like, how we would deal with that," said Jeff Kroll, manager of the Missoula Regional HazMat Team. "We train on a monthly basis, and this month we picked that this was a high target hazard for us here."
After the session, emergency crews also conducted simulated decontamination procedures.
While Thursday's training has wrapped, the work is not done.
The Missoula Regional Response Team moves around the region and conducts monthly trainings.
"We are responsible for Western Montana, and so we'll go to Hamilton, Stevensville, and we train at all different places, and we try to focus on high-risk areas," Kroll said.
The City of Missoula Fire Department said the training is part of the department's ongoing commitment to maintaining a high level of preparedness for hazardous materials incidents.
