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NORTON - The call went out shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The fire department arrived at Hallsmith-Sysco Foods on South Worcester Street in response to an ammonia leak in its refrigeration system.

But the emergency really was a drill that included the state's hazardous materials team.

It also served as a dry run for the Regional Emergency Planning Committee set up in an emergency operations center on the second floor of the police station.

There, representatives from state, local and regional agencies, along with local emergency responders, health, conservation and other officials from Attleboro and North Attleboro gathered to monitor and learn from the exercise. The drill included a mock evacuation of the neighborhood and the New Testament Christian School at Woodard Street and Route 140.

Fire engines and hazardous materials vehicles were stationed at the rear of Hallsmith-Sysco's warehouse as personnel geared up in their florescent yellow suits.

They were preparing for entry into the building "to shut the valve down," Norton Fire Capt. Kent Campbell said. In real time, medical evaluations would be conducted of the team to gauge pre- and post vital signs, he said.

The exercise included decontamination of the team members.

It was also a drill for the food distribution company, Campbell said.

The company recently acquired two meters to measure ammonia, one of which is being given to the Norton Fire Department, he said.

The District 1 hazmat team covers 99 cities and towns.

At the emergency operations center in the police department, Norton Fire Chief Richard Gomes reported the hazmat team in place, and said considerations should be made for a "marshalling area" for media and government officials.

It took an hour for the first responders to enter the building - the time it took to suit up, conduct medical evaluations and prepare to go inside.

"If you're an incident commander, you're tapping your foot, saying, 'Come on, come on, get in there,'" North Attleboro Fire Chief Peter Lamb said. But the precautions are necessary, he added.

If victims were in the building, naturally first responders would have already tried to do a "short-duration entry," in which they would "grab and run," he said.

Word comes into the center that the valve was shut down at 11:20 a.m.

Gomes and others said that conducting such drills on a regional basis gets more agencies involved, and on board.

"It goes a long way when something does happen," he said.

SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.