PHOTO GALLERY: "Urban Shield" Prepares Boston Police, Fire and Military for Terrorist Attacks

Preparation is a key to any situation, especially something like a large-scale terrorist attack. 

On Friday, Boston officials started hosting Urban Shield: Boston, a 24-hour large scale crisis management competitive training exercise began in South Boston at the Marine Industrial Park. More crisis-type events were scheduled to begin Saturday morning at 8 a.m.

Teams from the City of Boston, Metro-Boston Homeland Security Region, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Providence, Rhode Island and Almeda County in California, are all participating. "The competition will assess each team’s ability to successfully respond to and manage multiple terrorist events and other emergencies occurring simultaneously throughout the Boston area," said a press release for the City.

Sites holding staged events include Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, during which officials will deal with a structural collapse and rescue. The Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team will be there to respond; 

At the Winthrop Public Landing a SWAT team will respond to a "maritime interdiction with hostages."

At the New England Produce Center in Chelsea, bomb squads and K-9 teasdms will respond to "explosive devices found inside a motor vehicle."

At Boston's Marine Industrial Park around 5 p.m., there will be a "large-scale event similar to terrorist attacks in Mumbai." SWAT, USAR, EMS and bomb squads will respond to this situation.