SAULT STE. MARIE, MI -- It’s always better to be prepared in emergency situations and you've probably heard the old adage "practice makes perfect."     

In Sault Ste. Marie Wednesday, several agencies came together to work out any kinks in an oil spill disaster plan.

In this training exercise, crews are sent out to contain a "worse case spill" on the St. Mary’s River.  A contracted company set up booms to prevent oil contamination to spread.  This was just part of Wednesday’s exercise.

"It measures and tests the standing documents we have for contingency plans for spills and hazards we can encounter here at the port," said Lt. Kenneth Scott of the Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie.

Although securing a boom around the oil and making sure it doesn't spread is very important, the collaboration that happens inside the incident command center is even more detrimental.

More than 270 people, from the federal level, tribal, state, local levels, and even Canada are inside the incident command center, where pooled resources, management, and teamwork work to find the best solution.

"The scope of the spill can be particularly overwhelming to one single agency if we don't know how to cooperate with each other," said USCG Sector Soo Captain Joseph McGuiness.

Every person and piece of equipment is accounted for as they work through the problem.

"They can see how we work our boats, we can see how they work theirs, so we can work as a team if it does happen," said Tom Wert of the Canadian Coast Guard.

And practice is critical to make sure everyone is ready for a real emergency

“No matter what level you're at, there's so much you can learn, and maybe one of the most important things you'll learn from these is who are your counterparts," said Capt. McGuiness.

On Thursday, training between the agencies will wrap up with a maritime security threat scenario.