OMAHA, Neb.—Firefighters who responded to February’s fiery train derailment in Ohio struggled to immediately identify the hazardous chemicals the train was hauling due to a lack of communication from the railroad, 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 it took Norfolk Southern so long to provide details of the freight to first responders. One local fire chief said it was about 45 minutes before his crew received that information.
