Residents Near Train Car Fire Ordered To Evacuate Or Face Charges

Ohio officials will introduce a “controlled release” Governor Mike DeWine (R.-OH), announced Monday afternoon that there would be no gas at the East Palestine train car derailment site at 3:30 p.m. EST in order to prevent a devastating explosion.

Since Friday, fires have been erupted at the scene of the derailment. However, the danger of an explosion has increased over the weekend due to officials continuing to monitor the levels of vinyl chloride as well as other chemicals. Under threat of arrest, officials have been directing people to evacuate within a 1-by-2 mile area. They cited the possible release of gas and the possibility of an explosion.

“Folks in [the] red area are at risk of death,” DeWine added.

Governor DeWine “Folks in red area are at risk of death.” These evacuations must be done. @WPXI pic.twitter.com/X3MBD3zEZL

— Amy Hudak (@amy_hudak) February 6, 2023

Between 1,500 and 2,000 of the town’s 4,900 residents were covered by the evacuation order, according to The Washington Times. As of Sunday night, most people had been evacuated, but around 25% of those under the order were refusing to leave.

On Monday, local officials threatened to charge people ignoring the order with misconduct in an emergency, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The charge would be increased to a first-degree misdemeanor if they refused to evacuate children.

“Again, we will be enforcing the evacuation zone. Please, for your own safety, remove your families from danger,” said the sheriff.

The crash involved around 50 train cars and occurred about 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Ohio National Guard was dispatched over the weekend and is in the area, too.

Federal investigators have determined that the crash was caused by an issue with a rail car axle. Sometime before the train derailed, crew members were alerted to a mechanical problem. As of this weekend, authorities have not determined where exactly on the train the failure occurred.

A shelter-in-place order had initially been given for the town, but Gov. DeWine later urged people within one mile of the derailment to evacuate. As of 8:00 a.m. on Monday, anyone who evacuated was no longer allowed to return home.