THE SELMA TIMES-JOURNAL

It could happen anywhere &8212; a chemical spill and the fallout.

Emergency workers from Dallas County and surrounding areas practiced their response time efforts Saturday with a simulated accident.

The scenario: A van of seven people crashed into the back of a flatbed truck carrying barrels of calcium arsenate, a toxic insecticide and herbicide. The accident results in injuries and fatalities and the calcium arsenate is spilled.

Pam Cook, director of the Dallas County Emergency Management Agency, said simulations like Saturday’s are needed to train workers in the event of an emergency.

More than 100 people participated in the event at Craig Field, north of Selma.

Bill Column of Lee Helms Associates of Clanton helped with the assessment. The potential for a disaster here exists every day, considering the 18-wheelers and trains that roll through the area, he said.

“Something like this could happen at any given time,” he said.

Column’s job is to help emergency workers understand their roles and their performances.