SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Hundreds of first responders came together that night of the East Palestine train derailment to assist in the major effort of extinguishing the consequential blaze.

It was an unprecedented event that brought dozens of surrounding fire departments together. Now, two men from the Springfield Township Fire Department are being recognized for their actions that night, that prevented the fire from reaching nearby homes.

Springfield Township firefighters Jared Musial and Steve Szekely remember the night of the East Palestine train derailment like it was yesterday.

"And we were close to running out of water and luckily, Clair Township showed up and they took over suppression," explained Steve Szekely, a firefighter with the Springfield Township Fire Department.

As the volunteer firefighters were called to respond to the aftermath, they got separated from their engine, ending up on the other side of the train tracks. The two were directed to a smaller fire at the U.S. Stoneware building.

"The particular street we were on, buildings were catching on fire and the drainage ditch was flowing into Downtown East Palestine," explained Jared Musial, a firefighter with the Springfield Township Fire Department.

"The back side of the building was on fire along with the drainage ditch, next to the railroad tracks, all the chemicals were coming down the drainage ditch and they were on fire," Szekely added. 

The duo tried to tame the blaze with the tanker they had, which was not designed to fight fires. It just supplies the water to the engine they were still separated from. After a few attempts, they were successful.

"You always have to be on guard and sometimes you have to think outside the box," explained Matt Gebhardt, Fire Chief with the Springfield Township Fire Department. "They train you the best they can train you but you can't prepare for every scenario that's put in front of you. They did an excellent job."

Chief Gebhardt stressed the importance of the strong brotherhood between surrounding departments that all came together to assist with taming the massive blaze. 

"It's superb," Gebhardt added. 'We've worked with East Palestine in the past and we all work well together around the area. It was a huge effort."

If it wasn't for their quick thinking, the fire could have spread to dozens of homes and businesses nearby. Senator Michael Rulli presented the two with a Proclamation from the State of Ohio to honor the two for their efforts.

"This is our home and these guys didn't hesitate," Rulli said. "I think when you looked at 9/11 and you saw how powerful that was when they ran right in. Here we did it again in our own little neck of the woods. So, I was very moved when I heard their story."

Josh Weiry, Springfield Township Trustee told Senator Rulli about the efforts from Musial and Szekely. 

"He told me their story and it stuck with me," Rulli said. "This proclamation is documented in the state record and it's something they can remember forever how special they are."

"I just was happy to do my job and happy to help out another community when they needed help as a volunteer firefighter," Musial added. 

Now Senator Rulli also is asking other first responders who have unique stories to come forward so they can be rightfully recognized.

About 50 departments responded to the train derailment scene that night with over 300 firefighters at and around ground zero.