The fire that destroyed Martin’s Country Market in Ephrata Township last month spread fast. Firefighters were on the scene within minutes of the initial report, but they still couldn’t stop
About 135 miles of active rail lines weave through Lancaster County carrying rail cars that at any point could be filled with hazardous material such as vinyl chloride, the chemical
Attorneys General from Pennsylvania and 12 other states signed a letter last month to the U.S. Department of Transportation supporting a proposed federal rule to require railroads to make information
Late last month, Norfolk Southern hosted three days of safety training in Harrisburg for emergency responders from across central Pennsylvania. The training provided by the company, which owns railroads stretching
The trains that run along about 135 active miles of rail in Lancaster County can at any point be carrying hazardous material. But real-time information on those materials is nearly impossible to get, because in a post-9/11 environment, railroads aren’t required to share that information. That secrecy means emergency responders might not know what hazardous materials they’re dealing with until they reach the scene, and that there is no single, consistent way to find the information at the scene – all of which could potentially slow their response or put them in danger. State and federal legislators are calling for greater transparency, as ongoing Congressional testimony has shown first responders weren’t able to access information about the chemicals in the overturned cars right away, and the railroad has been under fire for response time.