Emergency managers in Erie said that what happened in Ohio is no surprise here. You don’t like to think about it but it could happen at any time.
Tankers of chemicals pass through Erie County every day and many by rail. We don’t like to think about it but the risks, despite precautions are real, and it’s something Erie’s fire chief thinks about a lot.
“With all the chemicals and oils one end or the other, it’s always in the back of your mind. Something might happen,” said Brian Mesaros, assistant emergency management coordinator, Erie County Department of Public Safety.
Emergency managers will tell you it’s a source of concern to have that much rail traffic moving through the center of town.
County emergency managers have also worried about the possibilities and started to plan for potentials about 10 years ago.
Mesaros continued on to say, “We actually did take a look at that and this started back in 2014 with the crude oil trains that came through and some of the incidents across the country that happened with those. We started developing a rail safety plan for the county.”