EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – A new agreement paves the way for the construction of a $20 million first responder training center in the village.
The center was initially proposed in the weeks following the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment, but the project was scrapped from the final settlement agreement between the village and Norfolk Southern, announced in January 2025.
On Friday, the offices of Gov. Mike DeWine, Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Sens. Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, Youngstown State University President Bill Johnson, East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway and Norfolk Southern Railroad President and CEO Mark George, announced reimagined plans for the training facility to be built in the village at a site still to be determined.
Under the new agreement, Norfolk Southern will provide $20 million in funding to YSU to design and construct the center. The university will also operate it as part of its Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences and Forensic Science, and a long-term endowment plan will support it, thus ensuring long-term viability of the facility.
The concept for the facility reportedly includes space for fire, police and emergency medical service first responders, including volunteers, to train in various scenarios. Those could include house, vehicle, industrial fires, search and rescue, confined space rescues and agricultural rescues.
East Palestine’s emergency response agencies will have free and priority access to the facility, which will also offer a fire sciences curriculum and alternative workforce education pathways for YSU students.
The agreement is a “truly collaborative effort involving those from the White House to the Statehouse to the community of East Palestine,” DeWine said in a news release.
“Incorporating higher education and workforce development into this new training facility will deepen its impact, preparing today’s first responders, as well as the next generation of brave men and women who dedicate themselves to protecting the public and saving lives,” DeWine said.
Johnson, who was the U.S. representative for the 6th District at the time of the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment, said the project will help YSU expand its workforce education focus on providing essential skills and developing tomorrow’s workforce.
“We are deeply honored to participate in the $20 million public-private partnership with the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Norfolk Southern and the village of East Palestine to develop a state-of-the-art Fire Science and Public Safety Training Facility that will serve first responders across Ohio and beyond,” Johnson said.
Conaway called it a great day for East Palestine, the village’s first responders and the first responders across the region who want to be better prepared to serve their communities.
George said Norfolk Southern is “proud to provide this $20 million grant” for the project. Since the derailment, Norfolk Southern restored the site and completed water mitigation in the creeks under the oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency; funded more than $25 million for ongoing upgrades and improvements to East Palestine Park; renovated the exterior of the historic East Palestine train depot; and provided the village with $22 million for future priorities and $13.5 million in prior payouts for the replacement of equipment and improvements to the water treatment plant.
At the time of the January 2025 agreement, it was stated that both the village and the railroad had determined the safety training center was not feasible.