Current:Home > NewsNew videos show towers of fire that prompted evacuations after last year’s fiery Ohio derailment-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
New videos show towers of fire that prompted evacuations after last year’s fiery Ohio derailment
View Date:2024-12-23 19:22:52
Residents of eastern Ohio can now get an up-close view in newly released videos of the twin toxic towers of fire that forced them from their homes last February when officials decided to blow open five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride they worried might explode days after a Norfolk Southern train derailed.
The National Transportation Safety Board released more than a half-dozen videos of the explosions, fire and huge plume of black smoke generated along with a number of documents unearthed in their investigation about what went into the decision to release and burn the vinyl chloride.
Those documents reinforce the questions raised last spring at the hearings the NTSB held in East Palestine, Ohio, about whether the vinyl chloride tank cars really would have exploded while they were surrounded by the fire from the derailment. The officials who made that decision have defended it, saying they made the best call they could with the information they had available that day.
The company that made the chemical, Oxy Vinyls, told investigators they believed the vinyl chloride remained stable and wouldn’t explode, but it was revealed last year that the opinion of Oxy Vinyls’ experts wasn’t shared with key decisionmakers. Instead, they decided to blow open the cars because of the concerns about the cars’ temperature readings and whether pressure relief valves were working.
Residents are still worrying about the potential health consequences of that decision and the derailment itself as the one-year anniversary of the derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border approaches on Saturday. Key health questions remain unanswered although many who live in East Palestine just want to move forward with rebuilding their town.
State and federal EPA officials have said their tests haven’t shown toxic levels of chemicals since the evacuation order was lifted. The massive cleanup that included removing more than 176,000 tons of contaminated soil from around the derailment continues, but it could wrap up around the middle of this year.
There are also details in the documents about the trackside detectors that spotted a bearing heating up on one of the railcars, but didn’t trigger an alarm early enough for the crew to stop the train before the derailment. The NTSB blamed that overheating bearing for causing the derailment in the preliminary report, but their full investigation likely won’t be complete until this summer.
The eastbound train passed three systems that detect hot wheel bearings in the 30 miles (48 kilometers) before East Palestine that showed the temperature of a bearing on one of the cars steadily increasing.
A Norfolk Southern assistant vice president for signals told the NTSB the first two detectors “did not trigger any alarms or alerts” that would have required action by the crew or the sole employee monitoring them across the railroad from Georgia.
But the official later said that as the train passed through Salem, Ohio, which is about 26 miles (42 kilometers) from East Palestine, a sensor sent a non-critical alert to an analyst about the bearing heating up. Video gathered by NTSB investigators showed sparks or fire beneath one of the rail cars starting in Salem.
The analyst was working through other alerts in his queue and “did not get to that alert immediately,” said the NS official, whose name was redacted in these latest documents.
Railroad procedures called for monitoring of the wheel until the next detector. “It would not have been an event that we would have expected immediate action to be taken at that point in time,” the official said.
As this ill-fated train passed a sensor in East Palestine, the bearing surged to 253 degrees above the ambient temperature and sent a “critical alarm” to the crew to stop the train and check the axle.
NTSB has said the crew acted properly and tried to stop the train, but it derailed before coming to a complete stop.
An East Palestine Police Department report said that six days before the derailment, authorities got a call from a woman reporting that a different train was on fire.
An East Palestine police officer reported seeing a six-car train with three of the cars dragging wheels like the brakes were on, causing sparks to fly about 30 feet from the train. Two of the cars had flames under them, the officer wrote.
“As the train continued on through the North Market crossing, the engineer gave me a thumbs up and a smile, like this was everyday stuff,” the officer wrote. “Had dispatch call and advise Norfolk, but the train continued into Pennsylvania.”
In response, Norfolk Southern told authorities the train was out of East Palestine’s area, that they should cancel responding firefighters, and the railroad would call back if they were needed, the report said. It wasn’t clear what happened to that train and whether it was stopped to remove the car that was on fire after the train left town.
___
Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska, and Krisher reported from Detroit.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Ex-Phoenix Suns employee files racial discrimination, retaliation lawsuit against the team
- Locked out of local government: Residents decry increased secrecy among towns, counties, schools
- December 2023 in photos: USA TODAY's most memorable images
- EU aid for Ukraine's war effort against Russia blocked by Hungary, but Kyiv's EU membership bid advances
- The Cowboys, claiming to be 'all in' prior to Dak Prescott's injury, are in a rare spot: Irrelevance
- 3 dead, 1 hospitalized in Missouri for carbon monoxide poisoning
- What does it take to get into an Ivy League college? For some students, a $750,000 consultant.
- Jamie Foxx's Daughter Corinne Foxx Is Engaged to Joe Hooten
- Are banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx open on Veterans Day? Here's what to know
- Iowa dad charged after 4-year-old eats THC bar is latest in edible emergencies with children
Ranking
- Black, red or dead: How Omaha became a hub for black squirrel scholarship
- BP is the latest company to pause Red Sea shipments over fears of Houthi attacks
- 36 days at sea: How these castaways survived hallucinations, thirst and desperation
- $15M settlement reached with families of 3 killed in Michigan State shooting
- Moana 2 Star Dwayne Johnson Shares the Empowering Message Film Sends to Young Girls
- Murray, Allick lead Nebraska to a 3-set sweep over Pittsburgh in the NCAA volleyball semifinals
- Not in the mood for a gingerbread latte? Here's a list of the best Christmas beers
- November 2023 in photos: USA TODAY's most memorable images
Recommendation
-
Watch: Military dad's emotional return after a year away
-
Alex Jones proposes $55 million legal debt settlement to Sandy Hook families
-
Russia adds popular author Akunin to register of ‘extremists and terrorists,’ opens criminal case
-
Bangladesh court denies opposition leader’s bail request ahead of a national election
-
Florida State can't afford to fire Mike Norvell -- and can't afford to keep him
-
Despite GOP pushback, Confederate monument at Arlington National Cemetery to be removed
-
Tara Reid reflects on 'fun' romance with NFL star Tom Brady: 'He's so cocky now'
-
Pakistan is stunned as party of imprisoned ex-PM Khan uses AI to replicate his voice for a speech