Chicago-area emergency personnel gather for tornado disaster drill

Chicago-area emergency personnel gather for tornado simulator disaster drill

It's tornado season and emergency personnel are training for trouble. Police, firefighters, utility workers and the Salvation Army gathered for a disaster drill Wednesday in Evanston.

EVANSTON, Ill. - It's tornado season and first responders are training for trouble.

Police, firefighters, utility workers and the Salvation Army gathered at the Civic Center in Evanston for a disaster drill – a simulated tornado – Wednesday afternoon.

With historic weather events and unprecedented security threats in recent years, officials say these drills are more important than ever.

"Setting up an emergency operation center and having a unified command with police, fire and the city and the community you work with – it is important just because of everything going on in the world today," Evanston Fire Chief Paul Polep said.

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"It's good to be unified and understand what everyone's doing and be on the same playbook," he continued.

Emergency responders say drills have already helped with some real life catastrophes.