Since the East Palestine train derailment, there's a new fear in the minds of city leaders, as they count the number of railroad crossings and acknowledge Norfolk Southern train routes running through neighborhoods across the Mahoning Valley.

Several surrounding communities said it's an "eye-opener," as Norfolk Southern's train route runs through Salem, Leetonia, Columbiana, and East Palestine. Up in Trumbull County, the route goes from McDonald, then south along the Mahoning River, then towards Mahoning County, through Youngstown and back up North through Hubbard. 

The City of Hubbard's Mayor and Safety Director said the first thing they could think of after this incident is the two heavily-traveled railroad crossings they have just feet away from an abundance of businesses and homes.

"...population that could be impacted immediately, is quite scary," Hubbard Mayor Benjamin Kyle said, "and it's not a matter of if, it's more of a matter of when."

As those who serve look at what safety plans could use attention, train derailment has moved much higher on the list.

Hubbard said they'll be learning more from Norfolk Southern resources so its law enforcement is more familiar with derailments.

Safety Director William Bancroft said he plans on conducting drills, running through scenarios to plan evacuation and traffic routes, as well as double checking they have every emergency contact ready to go.

"If we have to have to get 500 residents from an assisted living site to another location," Bancroft said, "[We need to know] how to transport that, so those are some of the logistics we have to think about ahead of time that's beneficial, but you don't know until it happens how you're going to respond and what needs to be done."

Salem's Fire Chief Scott Mason said his crew called the derailment a "firefighter's worst nightmare," a nightmare Mason said needs a "uniform line of communication," and that's something he hopes will change in Columbiana County to make responding more efficient and timely. 

"Somehow we need to get funding so all police and fire can be on the same radio system and communicate," he said. 

He hopes to become a part of MARCS (Ohio's Multi-Agency Radio Communication System) that's already in place, but would need $100,000 for their department to join in.

As it stands, he said there are very few communities in Columbiana County that can communicate with all other agencies.