Buffalo State College will hold a multi-agency disaster drill at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 16.

The drill, which will simulate a fire in Porter Residence Hall with multiple casualties, will involve numerous college departments and its University Police force, as well as the Buffalo Fire Department, Buffalo Police Department and Mercy Flight, Erie County Department of Emergency Services Disaster Preparedness Division, the Erie County Medical Center SMART Team and Rural Metro Ambulance, and will implement the state's emergency Incident Command System (ICS). During the drill, Rockwell Road will be shut down to traffic from Elmwood Avenue to Rees Street.

The drill will test the college's emergency response plan as well as the Incident Command System. That system, adapted from a California wildfire-fighting system and adopted nationwide, is a standardized emergency management system that provides a common framework and terminology that can be used by all emergency response disciplines. As part of its disaster preparedness, Buffalo State recently participated in a State Emergency Management Office-run ICS-training program.

The drill is expected to end by noon.