EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Video collected by the NTSB shows an axle on fire on the train headed for East Palestine.

What You Need To Know

  • The NTSB held its first of two investigative hearings on the East Palestine train derailment. 

  • The first day focused on the response to the derailment, and the decision to vent and burn the chemicals. 

  • Norfolk Southern was also questioned about the response to the derailment

It caught on fire as far back as Salem, which is nearly 20 miles west of the derailment site. A preliminary NTSB report found that an overheated wheel bearing was the cause but wasn’t conclusive. East Palestine Resident Eric Cozza didn’t like what he saw.

“That train should have been stopped in, if not Salem I think it should have been stopped in Aebring," Cozza said. "As soon as the first flame was shown on the rail, it should have been stopped.”

Instead, close to 40 cars veered off the tracks in East Palestine and released toxic chemicals into the air. Cozza said he had to evacuate his home. He said he just bought his home in East Palestine in September, but said the train derailment caused his property value to drop. Now he’s unable to move.

Norfolk Southern has pledged to reimburse homeowners for any lost property values.

“I got a six-bedroom home," Cozza said. "I’m in a detached garage with an apartment above it. To find this same thing out of Colombiana County would cost way more than what the house value is here now.”

The goal of these hearings is to find the true cause of the derailment. The first day of the hearings centered on the response and readiness of first responders and Norfolk Southern’s role in the response. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy got to question a representative from the rail company.

"How is it That Norfolk Southern could provide the contractors responsible for cleanup with the information within 12 minutes of the derailment, and took an hour to several hours before providing it to emergency responders?" Homendy said. 

“In this email, that was our IH department sending it to their monitoring contractors who were based in Arkansas to bring monitoring equipment based on the chemicals that were in the derailment," said Scott Deutch of Norfolk Southern. "I can’t explain the timeframe.”

The hearing also examined the discussions that lead up to the decision to burn five train cars carrying vinyl chloride. Officials testified they came to a consensus that venting and burning the material was the right move. East Palestine’s fire chief was asked about ways his department might plan for a derailment.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has said that the state wasn’t notified of the train’s presence in Ohio before the derailment.

“For our department., for example? Would it be beneficial? Potentially," East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick said. "But you also have to realize we have a train coming through our town on an average of every nine minutes a day. So if you were to send me a consus for every single train that comes though our town for every day, 365 days a year for nine minutes a day, could you imagine all the paperwork we’d have to go through?”

The NTSB cannot regulate the rail industry, but they can make recommendations. Those will be issued in a final report once their investigation is completed.