EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (WKBN) – East Palestine firefighters are being trained on a new piece of equipment.
The department has a new ladder truck. Its previous one was damaged while in service after the train derailment and had been deemed unusable.
One manufacturer had a truck available on a quicker timeline, so the department took it. Norfolk Southern paid over $2 million for the truck.
The ladder stretches 100 feet, which is 30 feet longer than the department’s previous truck.
“It can also aid us in rescues. This particular truck can get 15 degrees below grade. So if we have something down over a hill or, you know, something in a waterway that we need to span out into, we have the ability to do that now with this,” said East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick.
Firefighters will receive a couple more weeks of training on the truck.