Marshfield Police Department, Marshfield Fire Department, and Marshfield Clinic Region of Sanford Health Hold Safety Training

Monday, February 2nd, 2026 -- 10:00 AM

(By Tom Loucks/Communications Director) Marshfield Police Department, Marshfield Fire & Rescue, and Marshfield Clinic Sanford Health recently came together for a joint emergency training exercise designed to strengthen coordination during high-stress, real-world situations.

According to Tom Loucks, Communications Director with the City of Marshfield, the exercise brought first responders and medical staff together in a controlled environment to practice communication, coordination, and response procedures that would be used during a real emergency.

Joint training allows agencies to evaluate how they work together, identify areas for improvement, and build familiarity before a real incident occurs. From a law enforcement perspective, the training provided an opportunity to focus on communication and multi-agency response.

“All of these scenarios allow us to work on any situations we may see, work on communications, whether it’s radio or how we can be better as a multi-agency response to an incident,” said a Marshfield Police Department officer, Allie Eckes.

Marshfield Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief Steve Bakos emphasized the importance of agencies training together regularly. “We need to get together and practice together, and practicing together makes us faster and helps save more lives,” Bakos said.

Medical leaders echoed the value of collaboration across agencies. “The collaboration between all the agencies involved in planning this drill was exceptional,” said Haley Brace, EMS coordinator at Marshfield Medical Center.

“By training together, we were able to test communication, decision-making, and response coordination across all agencies, so we’re better prepared during a real event.”

“Training like this will continue in the future as part of the Emergency Management Program’s ongoing commitment to the safety of our patients, staff, and community,” Brace said.

“Insights and lessons learned from this exercise will be carefully reviewed and used to develop targeted improvement plans, strengthening our preparedness and enhancing our ability to respond effectively to real-world events.”

While no exercise can fully replicate a real emergency, joint training like this helps ensure that Marshfield’s first responders and healthcare partners are prepared to respond quickly, effectively, and collaboratively when it matters most.

Go behind the scenes of this joint emergency training exercise and hear directly from local first responders.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.