Is Northwest Washington prepared for a train disaster?

When a train carrying hazardous materials like vinyl chloride derailed in rural Ohio this February, the 4,700 residents of East Palestine — located about a quarter-mile from the Pennsylvania border — were not prepared.  Neither were the emergency responders, nor the state’s department of transportation, which opted to let the toxic materials burn for days. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the neighborhood's mandatory evacuations “a matter of life and death,” as the burning material