WICHITA, Kan. -  Sedgwick County Emergency Management will team with Occidental Chemical Corporation’s Wichita chemical manufacturing plant and several other local and county agencies for a series of emergency response training exercises Thursday.
     Neighbors of the plant, 6200 South Ridge Road, will see multiple emergency vehicles and may hear sirens as part of the drill beginning at 8:00 a.m. and continuing through the early afternoon.
     The exercises are designed to prepare agency and plant personnel to coordinate their responses to potential incidents involving chemical releases, fires and personnel rescue.
     One drill will include a shelter-in-place scenario at a local school in coordination with school and district officials.  OxyChem also will test its near-neighbor phone alert system, clearly identifying the call as part of the drill.
     Agencies involved in the training include: Sedgwick County Emergency Management, Wichita and Sedgwick County HAZMAT teams, Wichita and Sedgwick County fire departments, Sedgwick County Emergency Communications, Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, Oatville Elementary School and more.