On a beautiful, cool, crisp Sunday morning, two dozen volunteer firefighters from the City of Hudson Fire Department, Stottville Volunteer Fire Company, No. 2, and the Catskill Fire Department conducted a mutual aid drill at Oakdale Lake in Hudson. The purpose of the drill was to test pumping a large volume of water from the lake. Although the entire City of Hudson is filled with hydrants, standpipes are installed at Oakdale Lake, Underhill Pond, and the Hudson River to provide for a secondary water source to be used at major fires.

Hudson Engine 30 and Stottville Engine 50-2 both drafted from Oakdale Lake using the existing standpipe and additional hard suction hoses. Engine 30, which has a 2,250 gallon per minute pump, provided water to both Hudson Tower Ladder 32 and Catskill Tower 3-15. Engine 30 also was able to operate a deck gun mounted on the pumper. Stottville Engine 50-2, which has a 2,000 GPM pump and carries 2,200 feet of 5 inch hose, provided water to Stottville Ladder 50. No water was used from the Hudson water system.

The Hudson and Catskill tower ladders operated near the Oakdale ice skating rink while Stottville's ladder operated at Oakdale Park. While hose was being put away on the apparatus involved in the drill, Hudson firefighters were dispatched to a fire alarm on Warren Street. The drill began at 9AM and was completed by 11:30AM.