Santa Monica Fire Department Participates in Emergency-Training Exercise

The , along with fire departments from neighboring cities, took part in an emergency-training drill on Saturday morning. The exercise started at 8:30 a.m. at 2029 Century Park East and ran until 10:20 a.m., where a fire emergency was simulated on the 33rd floor of a 44-story high-rise building.

Also, the Los Angeles Police Department established a staging area at Beverly Hills High School, where fire companies were sent from SM, Beverly Hills and Culver City.

At 2029 Century Park East, the firefighters were told to respond to and assess the mock emergency. They checked each floor of the high-rise building using the stairwells as well as the elevators, for which they had a special activation key.

The firefighters, who were also informed about new policies on elevators, were evaluated after the exercise.

"There really will be people out there, but it's all simulated," the Los Angeles City Fire Department's Greg Acevedo said. "It just helps to know what to do in the eventuality of a real emergency. We want to be real practiced so that everyone knows what their jobs are and things are moving really smoothly."

City News Service contributed to this report.