Mock disaster planned for 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Perry County Jail in Pinckneyville

A Perry County Jail evacuation exercise will be held Wednesday, April 23, 2014 starting at 9 a.m.

The exercise will occur in and around the Perry County Jail as well as Marshall Browning Hospital and Pinckneyville Community Hospital, according to EMS director David Searby.

Emergency personnel from across the county will work through a scenario that involves a mock tornado crossing through Pinckneyville, damaging the Cunningham Insurance building and throwing debris onto the roof of the Perry County Jail. The weight of the debris collapses a section of jail roof and touches off an explosion that injures staff members and inmates.

No inmates will actually be evacuated, according to Searby.

The exercise will test the written disaster plans of Perry County Emergency Services, medics from the Pinckneyville Ambulance Service. law enforcement and the medical staffs at Pinckneyville Community Hospital and Marshall Browning Hospital.

Searby said residents should not be alarmed by the gathering of emergency vehicles at the jail nor by the sights and sounds around Pinckneyville hospital and Marshall Browning Hospital that will follow.

In the days following the execution of this drill, all agencies will review how they performed, their successes and any protocols that might be amended.