Buckeye Valley Local Schools hosted the Ohio National Guard’s 52nd Civil Support Team Thursday as it conducted training in how to respond to a simulated chemical incident at Buckeye Valley High School.

Buckeye Valley Superintendent Paul Craft, a retired colonel in the Ohio Army National Guard, said Friday the training was supervised by observers and controllers from U.S. Army North out of San Antonio, Texas, and the Ohio National Guard soldiers practiced their response skills in a real-world setting.

Craft explained the 52nd Civil Support Team “deploys in support of civil authorities at a domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosive (CBRNE) or natural disaster incident site by identifying CBRNE agents/substances, assessing current and projected consequences, advising on response measures, and assisting with appropriate requests for state and federal support.”

Craft said the district used the training as an opportunity to review its own emergency action plans, including reunification operations.

“This type of event and partnership helps build capacity in case there is ever, God forbid, an event that we would need to respond to in terms of keeping our students and staff safe,” Craft said.