Could the Ohio train derailment happen in Marshall County?
If it did, how would Marshall County respond to it?
On Friday, Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train derailed while traveling from Madison, Illinois to Conway, Pennsylvania. according to the National Transportation Safety Board, a total of 38 cars derailed and a fire ensued damaging another 12 cars. among that number, 20 train cars were carrying hazardous materials, 11 of them derailed. Because of that, residents were ordered to evacuate when authorities chose to breach five tankers that were filled with vinyl chloride, sending hydrogen chloride and phosgene, a toxic gas, into the air.
Could an event like what happened in Ohio happen in Marshall County? You might be surprised to learn that something like that has already happened.
“It’s happened in Marshall County before,” Emergency Management agency Director Clyde avery said. “It was ’78 or ’79, I believe. It was a train derailment just east of Inwood there.”
That was 44 years ago though. When asked what’s the likelihood that a train derailment could happen nowadays, avery said, “it’s very likely.”
He went on to say that, “In fact, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that same train that derailed in Ohio may have come through Marshall County.” avery explained that there is a Norfolk Southern railroad that comes through the county.
If there was a train derailment in the county, avery stated that 911 would be contacted and the appropriate Fire and Law Enforcement agencies to the site. “They’d get on scene and conduct an assessment of how significant or severe the incident was and then start developing their incident action plan as to what needs to be done and in what order.”
If it were a minor event, according to the EMA director, the response team would probably recommend or instruct people to shelter in place if there’s not much threat to life. “If it’s a major event like the one in Ohio, obviously they’re probably going to put out an evacuation order. So, then, they’re going to have to reach out to find those resources so they can then put those people up. Normally that would be Red Cross.”
an event such as a train derailment, like the one in Ohio, isn’t something that will be cleaned up in a matter of hours. The incident in Ohio
occurred on Feb. 3 and there are still ongoing issues.
“One of the first things that I encourage, or have encouraged, the emergency response agencies to do is once they’ve determined how big this incident is and how long it’s going to last, they need to start setting up an incident command structure to begin to deal with it,” said avery.
One complication avery sees is that many of the departments rely on volunteers. “So, they (the departments) may not have the expertise or the manpower resources to be able to implement a command and coordination structure to be able to deal with this.
He added, “Something like this would exceed our local capabilities so we would have to reach out to surrounding departments not only in our county but most likely South Bend Hazmat, the rail owner would be responsible in Indiana for the spill. Pretty much similar to what they’re making them do in Ohio to make sure that remediation actions are taken.”
another problem that avery sees is the lack of a skillset yet in place to deal with is the amount of public information and media attention that an incident similar to the one in Ohio would generate.
“That’s a capability that we’re kind of short on. Being able to address and put out all the information and make sure what’s put out is consistent and accurate with all the agencies involved. Because you’ve got not only local agencies, but you’ve got federal agencies on the ground and you’ve got the owner of the rail line on the scene as well. and then you’ve got nine government organizations and you’re dealing with not only media inquiries, but social media that people are already using to put information out that’s not always accurate. So, you have to get your head around all of that and make sure that you start to address some of those things that may not be accurate and get correct information out and get it out in a timely manner,” he said.
In the event a train would derail close to a residential area, avery said that residents should take care of themselves and their family. If they’re instructed to evacuate, avery recommends that they take the necessary items and supplies. avery recommends that everyone download the Marshall County app on their phone. You can search “Marshall County Indiana” in your phone’s app Store. In the case of an emergency or evacuation, those instructions will be located on the app.
Preparation is key to surviving any event. “We recommend that people keep an emergency kit ready to go. It’s something that they should have. Extra clothing, any medications, some cash on hand. If they have pets, make sure they have food and water for their pets. If they have small infants, make sure they have some extra baby formula if that’s what they use. Just those essential things that they’re going to need for a short period of time to get them by,” avery said.
avery touched on the county’s Emergency Preparedness Plan. “Our plan is based on capability. So, when we have an incident happen regardless of the size or complexity we would want those emergency response agencies to implement the same things each and every time regardless of what the incident is… Because you’ve got to get organized and you’ve got to start assigning tasks to additional resource support when you request them and they show up on scene because otherwise you’ve got chaos on top of chaos.”
The EMA Director stated that, “In order for us to have a successful response to these types of incidents, number one you have to have cooperation. The second most important thing you have to have is communication. and the third thing is you have to have coordination. In addition to that, you have to have good leadership and you’ve got to have trust. You’ve got to be dependent on your elected officials being engaged in the process too.”
When an event or incident takes place outside the county, avery watches the events and learn from them. “I tell the emergency response agencies all you have to do to learn it, you don’t have to go through the experience yourself. Look at some of these past events and take the lessons they learned and apply them to our own jurisdiction. That’s the best way to learn.”