Firefighters from three mid-Michigan departments rescued mock victims from a simulated building collapse on Wednesday, Aug. 26, testing how well their crews work together in a disaster.

The East Lansing Fire Department, the Lansing Fire Department and the Meridian Township Fire Department ran the nearly two-hour drill, which simulated a tornado striking a building and trapping three people inside the rubble, WILX reported.

Crews from all three departments coordinated across jurisdictional lines to locate and extract the victims while navigating the hazards of a collapsed structure.

Local context

The Lansing Fire Department responded to more than 27,000 calls in 2025, including over 4,460 fire-related emergencies and more than 22,000 EMS calls, according to the City of Lansing's year-in-review data. That call volume illustrates why coordination with neighboring departments matters when a large-scale incident hits.

The East Lansing Fire Department also participated in a full-scale emergency exercise on the Michigan State University campus in July 2025, joining MSU's Department of Police and Public Safety and other agencies for a drill tied to emergency management accreditation standards. That exercise ran three and a half hours and included Ingham County 911 and local EMS providers.

The Aug. 26 drill marks another step in a pattern of regional agencies practicing joint response. Residents who want to learn more about local emergency preparedness can contact their municipal fire department.