Rosemount Drills for Emergency Preparedness

Residents might see lots of emergency personnel and law enforcement gathered in Apple Valley on Saturday—but they shouldn't be alarmed—it's just a drill.

Dakota County Emergency Preparedness will stage an emergency preparedness drill from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the transit station at 157th Street West and Pilot Knob Road in Apple Valley.

DCEP holds one of these mock emergencies every three to five years to test the response skills of emergency personnel and law enforcement to a large-scale emergency, said Apple Valley Fire Chief Nealon Thompson.

He said it's not revealed beforehand exactly what the emergency will be to make the situation more useful for responders.

"We want them to be challenged by the event," Thompson said.

"They simulate it like a regular call," Rosemount Fire Chief Scott Aker said.

Rosemount police and fire departments will participate, as well departments from Burnsville, Eagan, Lakeville and Apple Valley, Allina ambulance and Dakota County Special Operations.

"We are going to be sending an engine [to Apple Valley] with a crew and one of our officers, also, to participate in the drill," Aker said. "We don't actually know what's going to be involved for sure, kind of like a real-life scenario. [We'll] find out when the pager goes off."

"It’s a great training opportunity to involve the four cities around us," Thompson said.

Aker said it teaches fire and police departments how to work with other agencies.

"[It helps us] alot on communication, which is a tougher thing to maintain when reacting to whatever situation comes up," Aker said.

Thompson said there would be "limited" opportunity for citizens to observe, but he advised citizens to stay away from the scene and to know that the event is only a drill.

"There's no reason to be concerned," he said. "It is all an exercise."