YOUNGSTOWN - We all know the potential damage that a major fuel spill can cause, particularly when it impacts the environment. 

Imagine the devastating aftermath that would come if there were a major environmental disaster like a fuel spill inside Mill Creek Park. 

Avoiding that kind of crisis is why first responders try to be prepared for the worst. 

Youngstown firefighters and police joined Marathon Petroleum and Miller Environmental Group Inc. in learning spill response training at Mill Creek MetroParks.

“We do this once a year just to keep in practice and to have the mechanics of how this works,” said Timothy Frease, battalion chief at the Youngstown Fire Department.

If a spill is not properly contained, it can negatively affect wildlife and the environment.

But why are first responders training in Mill Creek MetroParks? Mirror Pond is considered what's known as an "action point" for containing spills.

“There’s a set of 32 action points that they have laid out, and this is kind of the middle of the road to where we would try to stop it before it would get into the Mahoning River,” said Frease. “The action points are picked out as an area that's easy for us to get to, a chokepoint in the water where we can easily deploy a boom and also a collection point where we can later on have a vac truck or miller come and actually pick the product up for us.”

Responders start by identifying where the spill is located. Then, they secure a boom around the spill to make it easier for cleanup. 

The boom stops the contaminants from spreading to other areas. 

“To mitigate that as much as possible and make it easier for the people that follow on to clean the environment and to keep this from damaging the fish and the wildlife within the park and further downstream,” said Frease.

The hope is to have valley first responders prepared to stop spills from spreading to other areas, like the Mahoning River.