When disaster strikes, response time can be key to saving lives. Monday, Western New York officials will be getting some on-the-job training to make sure they're prepared to deal with an earthquake.

This emergency response is large scale -- 3,000 civilian and military personnel will on scene all week, starting tomorrow, to react and train at this staged event.

A disaster site has been set up at the old Spaulding Fibre plant in the City of Tonawanda. There's three debris piles that first responders will be working on - a collapsed building, a parking garage, and a hospital. Organizers spent today putting on the finishing touches which includes hiding mannequins in the debris for search and rescuers to find.

While the event is a simulation, the response will be a real test for both the military and civilian teams. "Working with the civil authorities, its important that we develop our capabilities so we work side by side, to understand what each others capabilities are and you have the familiarity," said Lt. Col. Matthew Cooper of the New York State Army National Guard.

An earthquake was picked as the disaster scenario because it is an event that could happen in Western New York, given our location on a fault line. And it allows emergency personnel to work on various disaster aspects, including toxic spills and structural collapses.

The simulated event starts tomorrow and runs through Friday. Organizers have already informed people in Tonawanda about what is going on, and again stresses that this is not a real event, it is a simulation.