It's the first Fourth of July in East Palestine since the train derailment and people who live there say they just want an escape from all the noise lately.

"We just hope that everyone can have a little peace and relaxation and normalcy," said Gia Delisio, a resident of the village.

"We're really hoping as a community we can come together and celebrate this day," said Johnathon Seabrook, East Palestine Fire Department Lieutenant. "It's important for us to come together and be one," he said.

It's not the celebrations that are top of mind for many of these residents, however. Some of them are still concerned with the health effects associated with the derailment.

On Monday, Governor Mike DeWine asked President Biden to declare the area a disaster, which might bring more resources into the village.

Some residents tell 21 News it's a step in the right direction and that they don't care who's footing the bill for all the damage that was done. Residents just want someone to take care of it and take care of them.

"I was very pleased with that," said Jami Wallace, who moved out of East Palestine for health concerns after the derailment. "We actually had gone down, we being the unity council for the East Palestine train derailment, had gone down to Columbus and delivered our demands for DeWine," she said.

Those demands included calling for the declaration. Not everyone is pleased with the decision, though.

"It feels a little bit too little too late," said Delisio. "We're being told that everything is safe so where is the disaster? you know, we needed that funding when everything happened," she said.

A Major Presidential Disaster Declaration would allow Governor DeWine to continue requesting aid from FEMA after voluntary contributions from Norfolk Southern end. There's been no response issued from the White House as of yet.