Rescue workers from several NATO countries, Russia and other European nations teamed up Tuesday in the countryside near Rome for anti-terrorism drills, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Some 250 firefighters, police and emergency workers will work for two days on various simulations of attacks combining common explosives and radioactive components that can contaminate large areas.

The drills, held at the Italian firefighters’ training center in Montelibretti, north of Rome, were designed to improve coordination between rescue services of the six participating countries: Italy, Russia, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Austria.

“The first response is always from the nation that is attacked, but if there are shortages of equipment or personnel, NATO and other organizations can mobilize additional resources,” said Evert Somer, a spokesman for NATO’s civil emergency planning. “The objective (of the drill) is to learn to work together.”

The drill, which also tested response to possible events like the use of a “dirty bomb,” is the last in a series of three joint exercises dealing with potential threats from weapons of mass destruction. The previous exercises were held in Russia in 2002 and 2004 to deal with simulated chemical and biological attacks.

The drill on Tuesday morning included this imaginary scenario: two cars, driven by terrorists, crash into a tanker holding fuel and radioactive material, sparking flames and sending up a cloud of black smoke. A team of fire fighters doused the burning vehicles with water and flame-retarding foam, while tending to pretend casualties dressed in green suits to signal radioactive contamination.

Firefighter Andrea Bonetto said the first response team is called the “canary squad,” a reference to the animal once used by miners to alert them to the presence of toxic gases.

“They are the ones who will save many people but will need to be saved themselves later on,” he said.

While the fake wounded were treated and decontaminated, a Russian team brought in a robot that was maneuvered into the blast area to collect radioactive material and store it in a shielded container.

Another drill Tuesday simulated a “dirty bomb” explosion at a convention center in Trieste, a city in northeast Italy near the border with Slovenia.

“There haven’t been many mistakes” in the drills, said Renato Riggio, a senior Italian firefighting official who directed the exercises. “Perhaps we need less emphasis on rescue operations and more on coordinating” rescues.

He said the drill’s usefulness could pay off in case of attacks in border areas.

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