'The NTSB has given us hope': East Palestine residents brace for investigative hearing on train derailment

Ahead of two days of investigative hearings into a February train derailment in East Palestine, representatives with the National Transportation Safety Board held a public meeting Wednesday night to answer concerned residents' questions."We are so sorry that this significant tragedy occurred here," said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy at the outset of the meeting. "We are sorry for everything that you're going through. I can't imagine."For nearly two hours in a packed auditorium inside East Palestine High School, Homendy gave residents an indication of what to expect over the course of the next two days."The NTSB has given us hope," said Jami Wallace, the president of the Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment. "But until we see action — words are just words."A preliminary report released by the NTSB in late February revealed that as the train approached East Palestine Feb. 3, a hot bearing detector recorded the temperature of a railcar's wheel bearing as 253 degrees Fahrenheit above the ambient temperature. A final report is expected, at the earliest, by February 2024."What we're tasked with doing is working to figure out what happened, why it happened, so that we can issue safety recommendations to prevent it from happening again," Homendy said.The hearing is expected to focus on the following aspects:Hazard communications & Emergency responder preparedness for the initial emergency responseCircumstances that led to the decision to vent and burn five vinyl chloride tank carsFreight car bearing failure modes and wayside detective systemsTank car derailment damage, crashworthiness, and hazardous materials package information"I think right now we need to figure out, most importantly, why the decision was made to burn five cars as opposed to one," Wallace said. Wallace's concern was echoed by another resident, who broached the subject during the public meeting Wednesday night. "There will be discussion tomorrow on the decision-making process to understand what conversations occurred during that decision-making between Oxy Vinyls, Norfolk Southern, and others," Homendy answered.Norfolk Southern and Oxy Vinyls, LP — the owner of the vinyl chloride inside the five tank cars — are listed as two of almost a dozen parties to the hearing.During the meeting Wednesday, Homendy did not cast blame on any specific parties, but she did go out of her way to commend the crew on the train, saying those workers "did a great job."