The SWAT team inched forward as they prepared for the worst. Sixteen hostages, five of them children, were inside the old farmhouse as “Mr. Oswald” ranted about being taxed to death, regulated to death. If something didn’t change, people were going to die.

The night before, a Hispanic woman was found passed out on N.C. 62. She was transported to Randolph Hospital, where test results revealed tuberculosis. Saturday morning she tells officials that fellow migrant workers, many of them sick, were being held at gunpoint by Oswald.

Archdale police go to the site on English Farm Road where Oswald shouts, “I’ll get you out two ounces at a time.”

The standoff begins.

Archdale Chief of Police Darrell Gibbs calls in the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, which in turn organizes emergency crews — haz-mat teams and first responders from Guil-Rand and Fair Grove fire departments and Randolph County Emergency Services.

Not sure of what “two ounces at a time” meant, rews set up tents to decontaminate for possible biohazards. Medical workers assess exposure to TB. The SWAT team stands behind an armored personnel carrier inching up to the door. In the communications hub, a second grade classroom at Trinity Elementary School, agency leaders set up laptops, radios, maps and telephones.

Detective Ed Blair begins negotiations.

According to protocol, if shots are fired, the SWAT team will charge inside.

This was a drill known as the “English Farm Exercise.”

The scenario was explained at a briefing at Guil-Rand’s headquarters on Main Street before the exercise began. The purpose is to evaluate how effectively the agencies work together.

Incident commander Col. Fred Rutledge of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, told all the participants, “We want your opinions today. Whether this is your first day on the job or if you have been here 40 years, you are important. If we work together, we will make this a good event.”

The hostages in the situation were community volunteers. Oswald was played by an employee of EnviroSafe Consulting and Investigations Inc., a firm hired to evaluate how effective the departments worked together. The exercise was funded through a Homeland Security grant.

The exercise in agency coordination was welcomed by Trinity Mayor Carlton Boyles.

“You know, this is like Murphy’s Law,” he said. “Something like this is going to happen. It is not a matter of if, it is a question of when.”

Guil-Rand Fire Chief Brian Cox echoed those sentiments.

“We are trying to work together for the good of the citizens,” said Cox.

However, the exercise did reveal problems.

“We have a radio system that we can’t communicate with each other even within the county,” said Cox. “We hope through this exercise that our county and city officials see some of the issues we have with interoperability.”

Interoperability is the ability to exchange and use information.

The communication problems mentioned by Cox were evident to observers.

Those in command frequently had to switch to different channels. On occasion, those at the command center juggled between the use of radios and Nextels.

While communication was difficult at times, the command center received word about lunch time that Oswald was willing to cooperate if he could get food.

Hot dogs were prepared by Big John (John Martin), a 15-year volunteer with the Guil-Rand Fire Department. After the meal was delivered, Oswald’s defenses began to weaken.

The children held as hostages were released.

By 1:45 p.m. Oswald surrendered. Some hostages needed medical assistance for broken bones, respiratory and blood pressure problems.

No deaths were reported, said Rutledge. However, medical personnel tagged some hostages as deceased so specific protocols could be practiced.

So, is the Archdale-Trinity area safe should such a situation occur?

“The whole idea was to make sure we could all work well together if something like this really happened,” said Gibbs. “I think it went very well today.”

Cox agreed.

“We had a few issues at first,” said Cox, “but they were corrected quickly. If we were to have such a situation take place, we can work around the obstacles to make it happen, but we really all need to be on the same page, especially when lives are at stake.”

Getting to that “same page” may be difficult with an outdated communications system.

According to Randolph County Commissioner Darrell Frye, who observed much of the day, “it has been mandated by the FCC that we upgrade our communication system by 2017. It is going to be expensive, but we have to do it. We estimate the cost will be about $8 million.”

Debbie Hightower and Kathy Stuart

contributed to the writing of this story.