The Chilton County Sheriff’s Department’s SWAT team conducted training Wednesday at a house awaiting demolition on Chilton County Airport property off Lay Dam Road.

Members of the SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team carried out a “long scenario” lasting about three hours that involved simulated situations with a suspect hiding in the house.

The team worked through a situation in which a simulated robbery of a gas station had occurred and a chase ensued, resulting in the robbery suspect parking his vehicle behind someone’s house, entering the house and holding the homeowner hostage.

As SWAT team members stood alert with guns and shields outside the house, a Crisis Negotiation Team, located in a trailer at the back of the property, talked to the suspect via a phone box the SWAT team deposited in the house through an open window.

“We’re trying to make communication with the bad guy inside,” Investigator Erric Price with the sheriff’s department said.

The Crisis Negotiation Team then gave instructions to the SWAT team based on what the suspect said.

Price said the SWAT team holds two or three long scenarios each year.

Wednesday’s scenario was the first long scenario for 2014.

Long scenarios normally last several hours, while short scenarios the team conducts periodically take about 20 minutes each.