St. Paul firefighters and emergency management officials welcomed state and federal agents to the Midway neighborhood Thursday morning for an all-day simulated hazardous materials response.
Officials said the drill, which they promised would have little to no impact on residents in Midway or Como areas beyond maybe more emergency vehicles on roads or a random drone in the sky, is the first multi-agency hazmat exercise of its kind since a similar event at Allianz Field in 2019.
"This is an on-going relationship that allows us to prepare for that bad day," said St. Paul Deputy Fire Chief Tony Farina.
Farina said it's the perfect opportunity to make sure everyone within each agency knows their counterparts.
"These continual trainings help build that relationship so that we're on the same page," he said.
The exercise should be wrapped up by 8:00 p.m. Thursday.