MU emergency response drill to be conducted Thursday

MU will conduct an emergency response exercise from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday in the East Campus neighborhood.

The exercise aims to make sure cooperation and "communication between coordinators and emergency responders is at the best level it can be," said MU spokesman Christian Basi.

The exercise scenario will simulate a situation in which a warehouse has caught on fire after being disrupted by a weather event, Basi said.

The drill will involve the Columbia Police Department, the Columbia Fire Department and local ambulance services. Basi said hospitals have also been invited to participate.

Staff members from the MU Environmental Health and Safety office will act as people injured in the incident.

"Some of the other objectives during the drill will be to make sure the entire area has been secured and that all (actors playing) injured people are found and treated," Basi said.

The drill is not expected to disrupt traffic or parking.

"We're hoping to have a minimal, if any, disruption for the people who are working in the adjacent building, as well as the students who are using the commuter parking lots," Basi said.