WELCOME TO WTA. LISTENERS, I’M KELLY SASSO TWO MAJOR STORIES CHANGE LIVES IN OUR COMMUNITIES THIS PAST WEEK. POLICE OFFICERS SHOT ONE OF THEM KILLED IN MCKEESPORT IN A TRAIN DERAILMENT IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO IMPACTED SOME ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA’S BORDER AS WELL. NOW WE’RE TAKING AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THESE ISSUES AND THE ROAD AHEAD. OH, MAKING THESE REALLY MEANINGFUL. MONDAY, FEBRUARY SIX. A DAY MCKEESPORT WILL NEVER FORGET. IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE. POLICE SAY A MAN SHOT TWO OFFICERS WHILE THEY WERE RESPONDING TO A DOMESTIC CALL. OFFICER SEAN SLUGANSKI DIED. OFFICER CHARLES THOMAS WAS HOSPITALIZED BUT SURVIVED. IT HIT THIS COMMUNITY A LITTLE BIT HARDER THAN IT NORMALLY WOULD. THIS TRAGEDY, AS ANOTHER LOCAL COMMUNITY, IS STILL GRIEVING RIGHT? BRACKENRIDGE POLICE CHIEF JUSTIN MACINTYRE WAS SHOT AND KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY JUST LAST MONTH. TARENTUM OFFICER JORDAN SCHRECKENGOST ALSO HURT. I JUST WANT TO THINK ALL THE OFFICERS OUT THERE THAT RISKED THEIR LIVES EVERY DAY. TODAY WE SIT DOWN WITH THE PRESIDENT OF PITTSBURGH FOP CHAPTER AND THE MAYOR OF BRACKENRIDGE. THE OTHER BIG STORY WE’RE FOCUSING ON TODAY, A TRAIN DERAILMENT THAT TURNED LIVES UPSIDE DOWN. YOU NEED TO LEAVE. YOU JUST NEED TO LEAVE. CARS GO OFF THE TRACKS IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO, A CONTROLLED CHEMICAL RELEASE SENDS A BLACK CLOUD OF SMOKE INTO THE SKY. WHEN YOU PUT A PLUME OF SMOKE IN THE AIR LIKE THAT, WHERE’S IT GOING? NOW, CONCERNS ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT. WE’RE HOPING THAT THERE’S NOT LONG TERM EFFECTS THAT CAUSES EVERYBODY TO GET THIS ANY CANCER OR ANYTHING ELSE. WE’RE HEARING FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE BREATHE PROJECT AND LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS. WE’RE STARTING TODAY WITH THE RECENT SHOOTINGS OF POLICE OFFICERS. POLICING HAS BEEN UNDER THE MICROSCOPE ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND HERE AT WTAE, WE HAVE DONE THOROUGH COVERAGE ON THE DEATHS OF JIM ROGERS, TYREE NICHOLS, BREONNA TAYLOR, GEORGE FLOYD, AND THE LIST GOES ON. AND AS THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF POLICING CONTINUES THIS MORNING, WE’RE DISCUSSING SOMETHING TOP OF MIND HERE LOCALLY RIGHT NOW. IN JUST THE PAST FEW WEEKS, FOUR POLICE OFFICERS HAVE BEEN SHOT. TWO OF THEM KILLED. AND THE SITUATIONS HAVE LEFT ENTIRE COMMUNITIES MOURNING AND ALSO ASKING WHAT COMES NEXT. THE PRESIDENT OF PITTSBURGH’S FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE SAYS THE TRAUMA SOME OF THESE OFFICERS ARE LEFT WITH IS UNIMAGINABLE. WE’RE JOINED NOW BY ROBERT SWARTZWELDER, THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE PRESIDENT OVERSEEING FORT PITT LODGE NUMBER ONE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. AND WHAT’S NO DOUBT, A DIFFICULT WEEK. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. YEAH, WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR YOUR FOP REPRESENTS CITY OF PITTSBURGH POLICE OFFICERS. AND I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THEIR RESPONSE ON THE DAY THAT OFFICER CHIEF MCINTYRE, WAS KILLED. YOU SAID THERE WAS A CLOSE CALL ON PITTSBURGH POLICE OFFICERS AS WELL, THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT. THAT IS CORRECT. ON THE DAY OF THE OF THE UNFORTUNATE MURDER OF THE CHIEF, OUR OFFICERS RECEIVED INFORMATION THAT THE INDIVIDUAL WHO SHOT THE CHIEF WAS MOVING TOWARDS HOMEWOOD AREA, LINCOLN, LEAMINGTON AREA. IN A JOINT EFFORT, THEY WERE ABLE TO LOCATE HIM. TWO OF THE DETECTIVES UP IN THE PRUSSIAN AREA GOT OUT ON FOOT AND BEGAN TO FOLLOW HIM. AS THEY GO BEHIND A DARK AREA OF A PUBLIC HOUSING BUILDING. THE INDIVIDUAL TURNS IN A DARK AREA AND HE OPENED UP ON BOTH OF THE POLICE OFFICERS, STARTED FIRING AT THEM WITH FULL AUTOMATIC GUNFIRE AT A DISTANCE OF ABOUT 12 FEET. THEY SPREAD OUT THE TWO OFFICERS. ONE IS STILL OFF INJURED BECAUSE HE RECEIVED SOME SHRAPNEL IN HIS FACE AND BALLISTICS SHRAPNEL DAMAGED HIS KNEE, HURT HIS ELBOW. THE OTHER DETECTIVE HAS SINCE RETURNED TO BOTH DETECTIVES. THE OTHER DETECTIVE IS SINCE RETURNED TO FULL DUTY. BUT NO ONE’S REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE. WE ALMOST LOST THREE OFFICERS THAT DAY BECAUSE THOSE TWO DETECTIVES, HOW THEY WEREN’T HIT IS A MIRACLE. BECAUSE THAT WAS FOR AUTOMATIC GUNFIRE. AT LEAST PROBABLY A FULL 20 OR 30 ROUND MAGAZINE WITHIN A DISTANCE OF ABOUT 11 OR 12 FEET IN THE DARK. AND THEY WERE VERY, VERY FORTUNATE. AND IT’S UNFORTUNATE THAT POLICE OFFICERS HAVE TO USE DEADLY FORCE IN THESE SITUATIONS. AND WE WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT THIS IS SUCH A RARE THING. BUT AS WE SAW HERE JUST IN PITTSBURGH, IN OUR AREA IN THE PAST MONTH AND A WEEK OR TWO, IT IS OCCURRING MORE COMMON, MORE COMMONLY, MORE FREQUENTLY. AND YOU SAID THAT’S A TREND WE’RE SEEING ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. UNFORTUNATELY. THAT IS CORRECT. SO THE NATIONAL FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE RUNS A ALGORITHM OF STATISTIC WHERE THEY TRACK ALL OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS, WHERE AN OFFICER IS EITHER SHOT OR AN OFFICER UTILIZES DEADLY FORCE. AND IN THIS INSTANCE, WE’RE SEEING A POLICE OFFICER SHOT AT LEAST IF NOT EVERY DAY, AT WORST, EVERY OTHER DAY. SO A POLICE OFFICER IS BEING WOUNDED IN THE LINE OF DUTY BY GUNFIRE, NOT JUST HEARD IN A CAR ACCIDENT OR SLIP AND FALL, BUT BY GUNFIRE ABOUT EVERY DAY OR EVERY OTHER DAY WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. WHAT DO YOU THINK COULD CHANGE THAT? WOULD TURN THAT STATISTIC AROUND? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, YOU HAVE TO SHUT DOWN THE RHETORIC. POLICE OFFICERS ARE HUMAN BEINGS. THE MEN AND WOMEN TO DO THIS JOB, THEY WORK VERY, VERY HARD AND VERY DIFFICULT JOBS. THEY WANT TO HELP PEOPLE. SO THAT’S NUMBER ONE. NUMBER TWO, YOU GOT IMPROVED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, RIGHT HERE IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY. THEY HAVE A $500 MILLION, ALMOST A HALF A BILLION DOLLAR MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET. WHERE IS THE MONEY? YOU KNOW, WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING AND ARE THEY ARE THEY USING IT IN THE RIGHT SERVICES TO GIVE THE POLICE SOME OF THE ASSISTANCE THAT THEY NEED? BECAUSE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, WE’RE NOT SEEING IT AND WE’RE NOT RECEIVING IT. HOW WOULD IT HELP YOU? WELL, IT WOULD ALLEVIATE SOME OF OUR PRESSURES, BECAUSE WHEN POLICE GET CALLED, WHEN WHEN THE SITUATION BREAKS DOWN, THE NORMAL COPING MECHANISMS OF A FAMILY OR AN INSTITUTION OR WHATEVER THEY CALL THE POLICE, BECAUSE HOWEVER THEY NORMALLY HANDLE THEIR PROBLEMS, IT’S BROKEN DOWN. SO WE NEED TO POLICE TO COME IN TO HANDLE IT. IN A MENTAL HEALTH WORLD, BECAUSE THE SERVICES AREN’T GETTING OUT THERE FOR PEOPLE THAT NEED IT, WE HAVE TO GO AND DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM AND WE ARE NOT AS WELL EQUIPPED AS PEOPLE THINK WE ARE TO DEAL WITH THAT PROBLEM. AND SO WE NEED THE ASSISTANCE OF OF OF THESE GROUPS IN THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH. WE ARE STARTING THAT CALL RESPONSE UNIT, WHICH STILL THAT’S HASN’T EVEN GOTTEN OFF THE GROUND THE WAY IT SHOULD. SO THEY NEED TO THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY NEEDS TO WORK AND SPEND THEIR MONEY MORE PRUDENTLY TO HELP THE POLICE IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY DEAL WITH THESE SITUATIONS. AND, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH TO IT CAN’T BE LOST ON ANY OF US. THE MENTAL HEALTH TOLL THAT THIS HAS TO TAKE ON THE OFFICERS. I MEAN, EVEN JUST LOOKING AT THOSE TWO PITTSBURGH OFFICERS WHO WERE AMBUSHED, NOW THEY HAVE TO GO TO WORK EVERY DAY AND LIVE WITH THAT, KNOWING WHAT A CLOSE CALL THEY HAD. I CAN’T IMAGINE WHAT THAT’S DONE TO THEM. WELL, THOSE OFFICERS, IF YOU RECALL THE TREE OF LIFE OR THE TREE OF LIFE AMBUSH, WHERE WE HAD OFFICERS, WE SHOT NINE TIMES IN THAT INCIDENT, HE SURVIVED. AND MANY OTHER OFFICERS, THEY LIVE WITH THAT TRAUMA FOR THEIR ENTIRE LIFE. AND THAT TRAUMA TRANSFERS TO THEIR FAMILIES. THAT TRAUMA TRANSFERS TO THE FELLOW OFFICERS. AND IT ALSO TRANSFERS TO SOCIETY BECAUSE IT AFFECTS US, YOU KNOW, JUST AS CITIZENS THAT WE SEE THIS KIND OF VIOLENCE, YOU KNOW, FLOWING THROUGH OUR COMMUNITIES WHERE WE’D LIKE IT TO BE KIND OF SAFE AND PEACEFUL. BUT AS WE SEE THIS TREND IN THIS TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE, IT AFFECTS EVERYBODY’S MENTAL HEALTH, BUT IT’S SPECIFICALLY THOSE OFFICERS. THEY’LL NEVER BE THE SAME. AND THEY ARE NOT THE SAME. WE REACHED OUT TO ALLEGHENY COUNTY FOR COMMENT ABOUT THE USE OF FUNDS FOR MENTAL HEALTH RELATED 911 CALLS AND A SPOKESPERSON TOLD US DHS INVEST HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TREATMENT AND OTHER SUPPORTS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED THEM. WHILE THE MAJORITY OF FUNDING IS REQUIRED TO BE SPENT ON TREATMENT SERVICES, THE COUNTY HAS COMMITTED TO MAKING SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENTS IN BOTH RESOURCES TO PREVENT MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS AND RESPONSES FOR PEOPLE. EXPECT INSANE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS. THIS INCLUDES STRATEGIES THAT AIM TO LIFT THE BURDEN OF MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE OFF OF POLICE. STILL AHEAD ON WTAE, LISTEN, IT WAS THE HEARTBREAK OF HAVING SOMETHING SO SIMILAR HAPPENED. SO SOON AFTER OUR CHIEFS PASSING DEVASTATING DEJA VU. THE MAYOR OF BRACKENRIDGE SHARING HOW A LINE OF DUTY DEATH IMPACTS AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND BEYOND. WELCOME BACK TO WTAE LISTENERS. ONE LOCAL COMMUNITY KNOWS WHAT MCKEESPORT IS GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW. ALL TOO WELL. BRACKENRIDGE HAS BEEN GRIEVING EVER SINCE JANUARY 2ND, WHEN CHIEF JUSTIN MACINTYRE WAS SHOT AND KILLED. TODAY WE HEAR FROM THAT BARROWS MAYOR. WE’RE HERE NOW WITH LINDSEY FRAZIER, THE MAYOR OF BRACKENRIDGE AGE, AND I THINK I CAN SPEAK ON BEHALF OF ALL OF PITTSBURGH WHEN I SAY THAT WE ARE SO SORRY FOR THE LOSS THAT YOU SUFFERED IN YOUR COMMUNITY WITH THE DEATH OF YOUR POLICE CHIEF, JUSTIN MCINTYRE, ABOUT FIVE WEEKS AGO. NOW. THANK YOU FOR COMING IN. IN THE WAKE OF THAT, I KNOW THIS IS STILL VERY FRESH. AS THE MAYOR OR YOU HAVE YOUR COMMUTE, EDDIE, LOOKING TO YOU FOR WORDS. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO SAY? I DO STRUGGLE TO FIND THE WORDS. IT AS YOU CAN SEE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONDOLENCES. I THINK IN BRACKENRIDGE IT’S NOT EVEN SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT I SAY, BUT IT’S ABOUT WHO WE ARE. WE ARE LUCKY. AND I AM GRATEFUL THAT WE HAVE A VERY KIND OF DEFINED SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND AND A CULTURE OF LOOKING OUT FOR EACH OTHER. AND SO WE’VE REALLY BEEN ABLE TO SHOW UP FOR EACH OTHER IN OUR COMMUNITY IN A BIG WAY. AND AT THE SAME TIME, WHAT’S HAPPENING IN BRACKENRIDGE IS NOT DIFFERENT OR DISCONNECTED FROM WHAT’S HAPPENING IN PITTSBURGH. THEY’RE NOT SEPARATE ENVIRONMENTS, AND IT’S CERTAINLY NOT SEPARATE THAN WHAT HAS JUST HAPPENED IN MCKEESPORT. BOTH OF THE OFFICERS WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THE SHOOTING, BOTH OFFICER SLUGANSKI AND OFFICER THOMAS, ANSWERED CALLS IN BRACKENRIDGE DURING THE TIME DIRECTLY FOLLOWING OUR CHIEF’S DEATH. AND NOW OUR OFFICERS FROM BRACKENRIDGE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE GOING OUT AND AND ANSWERING CALLS AND MCKEESPORT AND ALSO PARTICIPATING IN CASKET. WATCH. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THE CONDOLENCES FOR ME AND FOR MY COMMUNITY. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE ALL GOING THROUGH TOGETHER. WHEN YOU HEARD THE NEWS THIS WEEK OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN MCKEESPORT, WAS THERE A MOMENT OF DISBELIEF BECAUSE THIS HAD JUST HAPPENED TO YOU? SURE, I WAS ESPECIALLY GUT WRENCHING. AND IT’S IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT HAS JUST HAPPENED TO ME. IT HAPPENED TO ALL OF US. AND I THINK IN CHIEF MCINTYRE’S FUNERAL, YOU CAN SEE THAT WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENED THAT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT JUST HAPPENED TO US IN OUR COMMUNITY. IT DIDN’T HAPPEN TO ME. IT DIDN’T EVEN JUST HAPPEN TO OUR CHIEF. IT HAPPENED TO THE ENTIRE POLICE FORCE AND THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY BECAUSE THE POLICE FORCE IN IN PENNSYLVANIA, THEY ARE OUR NEIGHBORS. THEY ARE OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS. THEY’RE NOT SO THEY’RE NOT AN ENTITY THAT IS SEPARATE OR APART FROM US. AND SO IT WAS THE HEARTBREAK OF HAVING SOMETHING SO SIMILAR HAPPENED SO SOON AFTER OUR CHIEF’S PASSING. WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN BRACKENRIDGE? I DON’T KNOW THAT THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS ALSO SPECIFIC TO BRACKENRIDGE, BECAUSE AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN BRACKENRIDGE IS WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF OF POLICING IN OUR COMMUNITIES? BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WHAT WE’RE CURRENTLY DOING IS NOT WORKING AND SO WE HAVE TO SORT OF. I THINK WHEN WE LOOK AT CHIEF MACINTYRE HERE AND HIS PHILOSOPHY OF COMMUNITY POLICE, HE LIVED IN BRACKENRIDGE, HE WORKED IN BRACKENRIDGE AND HE DEDICATED HIS LIFE TO BRACKENRIDGE AS THIS IDEA. BUT IT’S NOT EVEN JUST BRACKENRIDGE, IT WAS THIS IDEA OF, OF THE COMMUNITY THAT WE HAVE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND HE LOVED BRACKENRIDGE. AND I THINK THAT THE FUTURE OF POLICING IN BRACKENRIDGE HAS TO BE BASED IN THAT COMMUNITY POLICING PHILOSOPHY. STILL AHEAD HERE ON WTAE LISTENS, A TRAIN DERAILMENT BRINGS NORMAL LIFE TO A HALT. THERE’S TENS AND THOUSANDS OF US ACROSS OUR REGION WHO WHO ARE GOING TO RESPOND EVERY DAY TO TRY AND MITIGATE THESE EMERGENCIES. BUT WE REALLY NEED THE HELP OF THE RESIDENTS AS WELL. FIRST RESPONDERS. EXPLAIN THE CLEANUP AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP. IF YOU ARE IN THIS RED ZONE ON THAT IS ON THE MAP AND YOU REFUSE TO EVACUATE, YOU ARE RISKING DEATH. A FIERY TRAIN DERAILMENT JUST ACROSS THE PENNSYLVANIA BORDER IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO. OFFICIALS CONDUCTING A CONTROLLED CHEMICAL RELEASE BEFORE SOME OF THE CARS COULD EXPLODE THEMSELVES. BUT NOW, DAYS AFTER PEOPLE WERE ALLOWED TO GO HOME, THERE ARE CONCERNS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACTS OF THE CHEMICALS RELEASED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. WE SPOKE WITH MATTHEW MALEC, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE BREATHE PROJECT. HE SAYS RESEARCHERS ARE NOW INVESTIGATING THE LINGERING EFFECTS OF THE CHEMICALS THAT WERE RELEASED WHEN THESE BURNS HAPPENED. NOT ALL OF THE PRODUCT IS DESTROYED AND THERE ARE SOME CHEMICALS THAT EXIST AND LINGER AROUND AND DRIFT USUALLY NOT AT LEVELS OF CONCENTRATION, ARE CONCERNED FOR HUMAN HEALTH OR OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH, BUT NO ONE CAN SAY WITH CERTAINTY THAT ALL THE LEVELS ARE SAFE WITHIN, YOU KNOW, A CLOSE RADIUS OF WHERE THAT EVENT HAPPENED. MALIK SAYS SOME OF THE CHEMICALS INVOLVED ARE HIGHLY TOXIC AND CAN DAMAGE LUNG TISSUE. NOW, OFFICIALS MUST KEEP AN EYE ON PEOPLE EXPOSED TO THOSE CHEMICALS. ANYONE WHO WAS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THAT, THEY NEED TO BE ENROLLED IN A HEALTH MONITOR PROGRAM. WE NEED TO HAVE PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS TRACKING PEOPLE WHO ARE CLOSE BY SO THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE THE MOST HEROIC ARE ALSO BEING MONITORED. AND GIVEN THE NEED IS THE GREATEST CARE THAT THEY NEED RIGHT NOW WHILE EVERYONE ELSE IS EVACUATED, FIRST RESPONDERS RUN TOWARD THESE SITUATIONS. WE’RE SITTING DOWN WITH LEADERS OF LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES TO DISCUSS WHAT KIND OF RESPONSE THESE DANGEROUS SITUATIONS ENTAIL. WELL, WE ARE HERE NOW WITH MATTHEW BROWN, THE DIRECTOR OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. WE ALSO HAVE CHRIS TATE, LEADER WITH THE WESTMORELAND COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AND ALSO HAZMAT COORDINATOR FOR THE COUNTY AS WELL, VERY QUALIFIED TO BE TALKING WITH US TODAY ABOUT THIS TRAIN DERAILMENT THAT TOOK PLACE IN EAST PALESTINE. I WANT TO START BY ASKING YOU BOTH WHAT YOUR INITIAL REACTIONS WERE WHEN YOU SAW THE VIDEO COMING OUT ON FRIDAY NIGHT OF THE TRAIN DERAILMENT. HAVING BEEN THROUGH A SIMILAR INCIDENT AND HARMER JUST IN THE PAST YEAR, INSTANTLY REALIZING THAT THERE WAS A MAJOR EVENT THAT WAS GOING TO ATTACKS ON FOUR DAYS OF, IF NOT A WEEK AND BE VERY, VERY INVOLVED. THAT’S THAT WAS CERTAINLY THE INITIAL THOUGHT. YEAH. IMMEDIATELY GO INTO RESPONSE MODE. YOU KNOW, YOU THINK IT IS IN PROXIMITY TO THAT OUR REGION COULD BE INVOLVED IN. YOU KNOW, ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO CONSIDER ASSETS FOR THE RESPONSE AND PERSONNEL THAT MAY BE INVOLVED WITH IT? SO WE LOOK AT IT CLOSELY IN THAT IN THAT REALM, YOU LOOK AT IT DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF US BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE TRAINING AND THE KNOWLEDGE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT GOES INTO RESPONDING TO AN EVENT LIKE THIS. IN FACT, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE TRAIN DERAILMENT IN HARMER. SO WE DID HAVE A IN A WAY, A SIMILAR SITUATION HERE, AND THAT WAS SEVERAL DAYS WORTH OF AN UNDERTAKING THERE. SURE, SURE. YEAH. SO LUCKILY WE DIDN’T HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, THE OCCURRENCE OF FIRE, BUT WE HAD THE POTENTIAL FOR IT. SO CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, AS CHRIS HAD MENTIONED FROM A RESPONSE STANDPOINT, THAT THAT THE FIRST RESPONDERS THAT DID RESPOND TO IT HAD THAT FOCUS OF THAT POTENTIALLY BEING A HAZARD THROUGHOUT. WE WERE VERY EFFECTIVE AT DOING EVERYTHING TO KEEP THAT FROM BEING THE CASE. BUT AGAIN, HAD VERY SIMILAR POTENTIALS TO WHAT JUST HAPPENED IN OHIO. YEAH. I MEAN, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE PARALLELS THAT YOU WERE LOOKING AT WHEN YOU REMEMBER BACK TO HARMER AND THE RESPONSE VERSUS WHAT THEY WERE DEALING WITH IN EAST PALESTINE, REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE WERE INVOLVED WITH, WITH THE INCIDENT, YOU KNOW, WHAT CARS WERE IMPACTED, WHAT CHEMICALS WERE INVOLVED, DETERMINING WHERE OUR HOT, COLD, WARM ZONE WERE. YOU KNOW, SO FOR THE SAFETY OF THE RESPONDERS AND THE COMMUNITY, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, FIGURING OUT THE COMMUNICATION THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE WITH THOSE WHO WERE ON SCENE, BUT ALSO FOR THE RESIDENTS AND THE GREATER PUBLIC THAT POTENTIALLY WAS TO BE IMPACTED. RIGHT. AND WITH BOTH OF YOU BEING SO TRAINED IN THESE HAZARD MATERIALS WITH YOUR BACKGROUND, WHEN IT CAME OUT THAT WE LEARNED THAT THIS WAS VINYL CHLORIDE, WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR FIRST TAKES ABOUT THAT? SO WE ALWAYS GO RIGHT TO A GOOGLE SEARCH ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAS BEEN MAYBE PREVIOUS INCIDENTS THAT INVOLVED SOMETHING LIKE THAT. AND THEN WE ALSO, IN OUR REGULAR PLANNING HAVE WHAT’S CALLED A COMMODITY FLOW STUDY. AND WE HAVE SOME OF THESE CHEMICALS ON A LIST THAT MAYBE WE’VE ALREADY HAVE LOOKED AT BEFORE. AND AS WE LOOK AT THE TOTALITY OF THAT, WE KNOW THAT THERE’S MAYBE MORE THAN JUST A SINGLE CHEMICAL THAT, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE A DYNAMIC SCENE THAT COULD INVOLVE OTHER CHEMICALS AND REALLY ALL BETS ARE OFF UNTIL THINGS START TO BE ASSESSED. BUT TO BE CLEAR, IN LOOKING AT THE COMMODITIES THAT DO TRAVEL THROUGH PITTSBURGH, THIS EXACT CHEMICAL, I MEAN, THIS EXACT SITUATION COULD HAVE IN A WORST CASE SCENARIO, UNFOLDED NEAR PITTSBURGH. SURE. I’M SURE THE POTENTIAL EXISTS THERE. AGAIN, WITH THE COMMODITY FLOWS STUDIES THAT WE DO ON A REGULAR BASIS, I HAVEN’T LOOKED AT THAT RECENTLY TO VERIFY. BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT TRAIN WAS HEADED TO CONVOY. WHAT ROUTE WAS IT GOING TO TAKE TO GET THERE? CONVOY. COULD IT HAVE COME THROUGH ONE OF OUR COUNTIES? I’M SURE THAT’S A POSSIBILITY. YEAH. WHAT IS THE LONGER TERM MISSION HERE, DO YOU THINK, FOR THOSE CREWS OUT IN EAST PALESTINE, THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM, AND AS FAR AS CLEANUP GOES, ARE THEY GOING TO BE OUT THERE FOR A WHILE? WELL, THEY WILL BE, BECAUSE EVERY ASPECT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND THE CONTINUED AIR QUALITY, YOU KNOW, MONITORING THAT HAS TO TAKE PLACE, THAT THAT NEVER STOPS. AND THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE THERE ARE TRAINED TO DO THAT AND CONTINUALLY, YOU KNOW, WORK TO THAT END. YOU WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT WE CAN JUST WRAP THIS ALL UP AND GET THINGS GOING AND IT REALLY INVOLVES EVERY ASPECT OF THE COMMUNITY AND ANYTHING THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN IMPACTED ENVIRONMENTALLY. SO THAT’S THAT’S CRITICAL TO MOVE FORWARD. AND I KNOW SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS REALLY WANTED TO MENTION IS THE VALUE OF THE COMMUNITY BEING READY BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE OUT IN EAST PALESTINE WERE GIVEN HARDLY ANY NOTICE. THEY HAD TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES. WE WERE TALKING SOME MAY HAVE HAD DISABILITY OR OTHER CHALLENGES IN GETTING OUT. WHAT DO YOU WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN HERE? I THINK REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE EMERGENCY IS AND REGARDLESS OF WHAT COUNTY OR AREA THAT THAT EMERGENCY OCCURS AND YOU KNOW, THERE’S RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE RESIDENTS, FOR THE CITIZENS IN THE GREATER AREA TO BE PREPARED. YOU KNOW, ONE, AGAIN, IT SPANS EVERYTHING, WHETHER IT’S FIRES DEALING WITH EXTREME WEATHER LIKE WE DID OVER THE HOLIDAYS. YOU KNOW, PREVENT THOSE NEGATIVE THINGS, THOSE EMERGENCIES, BUT PLAN AND PREPARE FOR THOSE THINGS. NOW, I’M NOT SHOUTING THAT ANYBODY WOULD BE PLANNING OR PREPARING FOR THE CATASTROPHE THAT HAPPENED THERE IN OHIO, BUT YOU CAN DO THINGS TO PREPARE FOR MAYBE A COUPLE OF DAYS WITHOUT POWER, A COUPLE OF DAYS WITHOUT WATER, DRINKING WATER OR FOOD. THE CAPACITY TO HAVE A PLAN OF KNOWING THAT IF I HAVE TO LEAVE HERE FOR WHATEVER REASON, WHAT IS MY PLAN TO GET THERE? HOW DO I COMMUNICATE TO MY LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS OF WHERE I’M GOING? THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. ALL OF THOSE PREVENTATIVE TOOLS AND PLANNING AND PREPARATION MAKES OUR JOBS MUCH EASIER. YOU’RE WATCHING TO LISTEN. WE’LL BE RIGHT BACK. WELCOME BACK TO WTAE LESSONS. WHETHER YOU LIVE IN ONE OF PITTSBURGH’S NEIGHBORHOODS OR A SURROUNDING COMMUNITY, WE WANT TO LISTEN TO YOU TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK IS WRONG IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD OR WHO YOU THINK IS DOING THE RIGHT THING TO MAKE IT BETTER. YOU CAN SEND US AN EMAIL AT WTAE. LISTEN AT HER WSJ.COM. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US, EVERYONE. HAVE A GREAT WEEK.