COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Hundreds of trains pass through Central Ohio every week.
You name it, and those trains probably are carrying it, including hazardous materials.
On Friday, emergency officials in Central Ohio came together to learn how to handle a situation if one of those trains were to be involved in an accident.
As part of a five-day, five-city whistle-stop tour, Norfolk Southern stopped a train in Columbus to help train first-responders on how to deal with just about any scenario.
First-responders with agencies from all over the region got a firsthand look at how to deal with things such as chemical leaks.
"Chemicals are often shipped in tank cars, and if there is a release, it's going to be special equipment, and there are different types of tank cars and different kinds of chemicals," says Bill Harris, Regional Vice President of Norfolk Southern.
Instructors went over the cars front to back and top to bottom to familiarize first-responders.
"Training is continuous, and that's why it's good to get things people can touch and crawl around on and experience," says Franklin County EMA Director Mike Pannell.
Instructors also discussed how to handle a derailment.
"They are things we don't deal with on a regular basis so it's a little extra that if we do have a derailment for people to being able to recognize different tanks, how to deal with the engine, how to deal with the mass casualty event from a train incident. It's really significant," says Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief David Whiting.
"People will be better trained after today," says Pannell.
That's the goal.
This is the third time Norfolk Southern has stopped a train in Columbus for training.
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