Bay City Tribune

Each year the Markham Industrial Group conducts an emergency response drill and this year it will be held in Clemville from 9 -10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29.

Community members are invited to attend the critique meeting and lunch following the drill at 10:30 a.m. in the Markham Community Center.

The drill is a requirement for compliance Texas Railroad Commission safety mandates.

"They are a regulatory agency and we are required to be in compliance with them but we also do it to test the emergency responders reaction time and to do what we need to do to ensure we provide a safe environment for the employees and the community," said Jerry Lundquist, Underground Services Markham plant manager.

In the past, drill scenarios have included a simulated pipeline gas leak with a simultaneous heart attack victim on another plant.

"This year's scenario will be something similar to that," he said.

The challenge is for all staff and emergency responders to be able to properly handle the medical emergency while securing the leak and alerting nearby residents and businesses if an evacuation is needed.

The emergency drill will include simulated road blocks at the intersections of County Road 417 and Farm Road 1468 in Clemville and on the West end of the Texas Bryan facility at Farm Road 1468.

Several Matagorda County emergency responders will be involved in completing the drill including the Markham Volunteer Fire Department, Matagorda County EMS, and the Matagorda County Sheriff's Office.

When you see those vehicles working on the drill, Lundquist wants to remind residents that there is no reason for alarm.

"It's good practice for us as industry people in the event that something really does happen, we're trained and we can do what we need to do to protect every that works and lives in the community," he said.

The business members of the Markham Industrial Group that will participate are: Underground Services Markham (Texas Bryan), Enterprise Products, Kinder Morgan, Lyondell Equistar Pipeline, Dow Seadrift Pipeline, Williams Energy and Tres Palacios Gas Storage.