Emergency simulations in St. Clair brings together volunteer, professional and industrial firefighters

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A drone shot of firefighters during an emergency simulation exercise at Suncor's Ethanol Plant Wednesday.

Fire crews from St. Clair, Sarnia and Point Edward and industrial fire crews from Suncor, Shell, Imperial Oil and NOVA Chemicals were all working together Wednesday at the St. Clair Ethanol Plant.

It wasn’t a true emergency; it was a simulation of a spill at the plant where fire crews needed to suppress vapours with foam.

The Bluewater Association for Safety, Environment and Sustainability or BASES, headed up the emergency simulation.

Many of the partners organization were in the St. Clair Township Council Chamber to view the simulation as it happened with the use of drones. St. Clair Township Fire Chief Richard Boyes and BASES General Manager Jason Vaillant walked the people watching through the fire crews movements as they happened.

Boyes said if the simulation was taking place in real time, it would take over eight hours to contain instead of the less than 90 minutes the simulation took.