Photo by Doug Koontz Chip Jewell, director of emergency communications, left, talks with Jack Markey at the emergency communications center, during a hurricane preparedness drill on Thursday.

In an effort to prepare for the worst a hurricane could bring, emergency planners met Thursday during a regional hurricane exercise to discuss response and communication methods.

Local and state leaders tested their response skills at the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services on Montevue Lane.

The participants pretended they had to deal with the effects of a tropical storm that dumped 12 inches of rain on the region 42 hours earlier. Residents were facing power outages, property damage and dangerous driving situations.

Jack Markey, director for the Frederick County Office of Emergency Management, said every response team would have to share resources in an actual emergency; therefore, multiple agencies should train together.

"We have to work across the boundaries," he said. "We're trying to identify how we can improve."

Thursday's training helped responders prepare by working through mock scenarios, Markey said. For example, when Hurricane Isabel struck Maryland in 2003, responders weren't prepared for the disruption of water and food supplies after the storm passed.

"Hurricane season is coming. Now's the time to prepare," Markey said.

The six-hour training session brought participants from the Division of Fire and Rescue Services, Frederick County Emergency Communications, Frederick County Health Department, Frederick Police Department, Frederick County Sheriff's Office, Frederick County Department of Public Works, American Red Cross, Fort Detrick and Frederick County Manager's Office.

"This is a functional exercise," said Garth Phoebus, emergency management planner for the county's office of emergency management.

Emergency situations are hardly ever the same, he said. The training gave agencies a chance to improve their lines of communication in crises, not just during a hurricane.

Chip Jewell, director for the Frederick County Emergency Communications Center, said he was glad to participate because emergency response starts with a 911 call.

"We have to be as prepared as possible," he said.

Jewell works daily with agencies throughout Frederick and said the training gave him the opportunity to see everyone in the same room.

"It was a success," he said.

Frederick County Public Information Officer Robin Santangelo made a conference call to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments during the exercise to compare notes with other information officers in the region.

"We work well together," she said.

The exercise also explained ways to get the same message out to the public during an emergency -- consistency is key, Santangelo said. For example, everyone should know which flooded roads to avoid.

"It was really neat," she said. "It was a really good experience for all of us."