EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — A life-or-death decision is made in a matter of minutes, that's what East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick was up against last February after a toxic train derailed.
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One year later, Drabick said that he stands by everything he did. According to the chief, the department is almost back to normal day-to-day operations at the firehouse.
Feb. 3, 2023, has not faded.
“Seems like yesterday,” Drabick said.
In our first interview last May, Drabick described what it was like for his crew coming up on the derailment on night one.
"Like the world was on fire,” he said.
Rail cars carrying vinyl chloride became ticking time bombs. Fearing a violent, catastrophic explosion, the decision was made to cut holes in the tankers, release the chemical and burn it.
That created a plume of smoke and sent toxins into the soil and creeks.
"Every decision we made was tough, but every decision was made through a consensus here,” Drabick said.
Last May, Drabick spoke candidly with News 5 about the days, weeks, and months after the derailment.
He spelled out his frustrations in text messages obtained through a public records request.
In one message, he wrote about feeling defeated and useless.
Drabick said that came after criticism from Pennsylvania’s governor about not being notified about the decision to vent and burn vinyl chloride.
Another text thread revealed the chief expressing frustration with a public health official, writing: “Comparisons to handle exposure like for a regular house fire was beyond unacceptable.”
“I don’t look back on them. Nothing that I have done from that point til now there is nothing I would change. I own everything I did. I own anything my guys did, and I think it went as well as it could have with everything we had,” Drabick said.
Chief Drabick said last May the decision about the controlled burn was the most misunderstood part.
He testified at a rare NTSB hearing last summer he had 13 minutes as incident commander.
“Very intense conversation. There were some heated moments of conversation,” Drabick said.
Drabick called for better communication between the railroad and fire departments.
He said that is happening now.
“They partnered with a company called 'I am Responding.' If another incident occurs, 'I Am Responding' will send out notifications to those local departments immediately,” Drabick said.
Last summer, the chief also submitted his safety recommendations to the NTSB.
It included better communication, paid staffing, and training that is easily accessible and affordable.
But Drabick said that he won’t hear anything until the feds complete its investigation later this year.
"We are in the process of beginning to draft the final report,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said.
“Communication staffing training those were all big topics things I’m pushing for and still pushing for and quite frankly will always push for,” Drabick said.
We asked the chief about what he thinks about when he returns to the derailment site.
“Norfolk is following through cleaning it up and getting the town back to where it should be. As they should,” Drabick said.
Drabick believes the village is heading in the right direction, and since the derailment, he’s gained nine more firefighters.
“I would like to say because it’s brought attention with the derailment and what this department was able to do along with the other departments, but I think at the same time it’s just a part of wanting to help your community,” Drabick said.
We asked him what’s not taken care of that he’d like to see done faster.
“There’s still a lot of unanswered questions and there’s going to be for some time,” Drabick said.
The chief also wants better pay for his team but says that will take state and federal funding.
