Emergency Harbor Response Drill Planned For Thursday

MARBLEHEAD, MA — Marblehead and Swampscott residents in the area of Eastern Yacht Club are advised not to be alarmed if they notice a bunch of emergency activity in the area Thursday morning.

Marblehead fire, Swampscott fire and the towns' harbormasters will be participating in a Geographic Response Strategy drill around 8:15 a.m. to display an ability to deploy oil spill equipment in an emergency and utilize the Incident Command System.

Under the scenario, crews will be responding to an oil spill in the harbor near the yacht club.

The other goal is to demonstrate effective communication between local, state and federal agencies.

Along with the town crews, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Environmental Protection and private environmental research and recovery groups will participate.

Residents are invited to watch from shore, but are asked to wear masks and observe proper physical distance.

Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)