Railway safety exercise involves local agencies

Police, fire and EMS vehicles will gather in the area east of the Amtrak platform this weekend when Stanwood Camano Fire and Stanwood Police departments will be working with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Amtrak on training events March 13 and 14.

Neighboring residents and passers by should not call 911 to report an emergency.

The training events to be held on the rail spur east of the Stanwood Amtrak platform will enable emergency teams to become familiar with special safety equipment of the BNSF and Amtrak.

The weekend exercises will begin at 9 a.m. and run until 1 p.m. Saturday and a bit later on Sunday. They will not interfere with passenger or freight service in Stanwood.

Spectators may not enter railroad property or clearly marked areas for safety reasons, but the exercise will be partially visible from the platform.

For information call the Stanwood Fire Station at 360-629-2184 or the Stanwood Police Department at 425-388-5290.