JACKSON, Mich. — Barbara Georgescu, 74, lived in East Palestine, Ohio, for almost half her life. Earlier this month, a train carrying hazardous materials derailed and caught fire just seven blocks from her home.
"I thought it was a house on fire, but a friend called from Pennsylvania who was on the internet and told me to get out of my house, there was a 50-car train derailment and a fire," Georgescu said. "I ran upstairs to my north window, and I looked out and saw it was like a towering inferno, this big flame with black smoke behind...I decided after about five seconds to immediately leave. So, I put my clothes on, grabbed my pajamas, my important papers and a photo album because I was afraid that the house would burn down."
Georgescu stayed with friends who were farther away from the disaster for two weeks until she decided to abandon her home entirely last Friday.
"Every time I went in my house, I was getting headaches or eye-burning," Georgescu said. "My house smelled strongly like plastics. That's what I would call it."
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She is now staying in Rives Junction, Michigan, with her daughter Lauren Samson. Although she has left, it doesn't mean she has escaped entirely.
"They're burning all the time," Georgescu said of her eyes and comparing the sharp pain to glass in the eye. "But sometimes you feel it more."
As she seeks comfort of her own, Georgescu is worried about those who have stayed in East Palestine.
"It tends to be poor, it tends to be less educated, it tends to be used to toxic employment and factories," Georgescu said. "A lot of people, the only money they have is in the home they own or the property they own. There's many, many people who want to leave and they can't. Their houses are now worth zero."
Georgescu said she plans to stay with her daughter and grandchildren until she can afford her own place nearby, but right now, she just really needs help replacing all of her belongings. Her sister Pam Whitehead started a GoFundMe to help Georgescu start her new life. Those details can be found here.
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