The top floor of Meridian Community College’s Ivy Hall served as a first responder lab Tuesday morning when a fake explosion in a chemistry lab kicked off a disaster drill.

Students covered with fake burn marks and gasping from fake breathing issues were rushed out to the front lawn of Ivy Hall, where they were assisted by local first responders.

 The drill served to help identify weak points in a disaster response plan and to get people familiar with the steps they need to take so their responses in a true disaster will be automatic, said Meridian Community College Campus Police Chief Shane Williams.

 “The event went great. That doesn’t mean there were not problems or issues,” Williams said. “We wanted to see how our plans work in a real-world scenario. The outcome was as expected,” he added.

The agencies and groups involved were many, Williams said, noting there were approximately 100 people involved in the event. They included local agencies like the Meridian Fire Department, Meridian Police Department, Meridian Emergency Management, Metro Ambulance, Lauderdale Emergency Management and Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department. On-campus groups including Campus Police, MCC Emergency Medical Science Technology, the Associate Degree Nursing Program, Fine Arts Division, Broadcast Technology Program, MCC Physical Plant and college administration also played their parts in Tuesday’s drill.

 “It’s always amazing to me to see first responders in action because they are able to adapt and overcome,” Williams said.

The drills are held annually and this marks the fourth drill for the college to conduct.