MT. VERNON — The Mt. Vernon Fire Department will be hosting a large, multi-agency training exercise Saturday. The exercise will simulate a large fire while not having access to water from a fire hydrant.

Mt. Vernon Fire Chief Kevin Sargent says the idea of this exercise came from the water main break at Rend Lake last May.

Sargent says residents should expect many different departments’ fire trucks in town that day, but they also should not be alarmed.

Some of the departments that will participate in the exercise Saturday include Centralia, Salem, Woodlawn, Jefferson Rural, Waltonville, and Webber.

Sargent asks residents to avoid the areas of Veterans Park and L & N Resevoir during the exercise so firefighters can complete their training.