Train derailment response reviewed
Communication issues cited in NTSB hearing
OMAHA— Firefighters who responded to February’s fiery train derailment in Ohio struggled to communicate with each other and were unable to quickly identify the hazardous chemicals the train was hauling, officials said Thursday.
During a public hearing in East Palestine — where thousands of residents had to evacuate their homes because of the derailment — National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Jennifer Homendy asked why train operator Norfolk Southern was able to provide details of the freight to one of its contractors within 10 minutes of the Feb. 3 derailment, but that it took an hour to get that information to first responders.
Knowing what was on the train helps firefighters determine the proper response.
The two-day NTSB hearing that started Thursday was launched to provide more information to residents, officials, and investigators about the emergency response and the crucial decision three days after the derailment to release toxic vinyl chloride from five tank cars and burn it to keep them from exploding.
The move to release and burn the chemicals sent a towering plume of black smoke over the town near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and prompted the evacuation of about half of its 5,000 residents. Residents have many questions about possible lingering health effects, even though state and federal officials say tests show the air and water in town remains safe.
East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick said Thursday that there had been a consensus in the command center that releasing and burning the chemicals was the “least bad option.”
Drabick and other first responders who testified said firefighters need more training — particularly volunteer firefighters like those who were first on the scene after the derailment — on how to handle hazardous materials. But he conceded it would be hard to imagine ever being fully ready for disaster of that magnitude.
“I don’t think you can ever be prepared for something like this,” Drabick said.
Ohio officials said volunteer firefighters receive only 36 hours of initial training when they are certified — significantly less than the 200 hours professional firefighters receive — and that no hazardous materials training is included.
The fire chiefs said the initial response to the derailment was complicated because the radios used by the different departments don’t work with each other. It also took time for emergency responders to discover exactly what the train was carrying because the first firefighters on scene didn’t have access to the AskRail app that railroads developed to provide that information. The train crew that also had that information was a mile away after moving the locomotive and didn’t immediately connect with first responders.
Drabick said it took about 45 minutes for his department to discover what was in the cars. Homendy said the railroad didn’t immediately provide that information to dispatchers and officials who requested it.
Eventually, officials were informed about the dangerous nature of the cargo and pulled firefighters back from the derailment site. They also ordered the evacuation of all homes within one mile.
The railroad has since been digging up and removing contaminated soil and water, and the Environmental Protection Agency and Ohio officials are overseeing the cleanup.
Norfolk Southern has committed more than $62 million to helping the town recover. The railroad has said it expects the derailment will eventually cost it nearly $400 million.