Walk Through Fire
Subtitle: The Train Disaster That Changed America
By: By Yasmine S. Ali.
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation; Citadel Press
Published: 2023
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9780806542188; 9780806542201
Copyright date: 2023
Description: Showing how a single community's terrible tragedy instead became the catalyst for radical change, this first book to examine the Waverly Train Disaster of 1978, penned by a medical writer and Waverly native, examines how this disaster laid the groundwork for the future of emergency management and disaster relief.

February 22, 1978: A devastating freight train derailment drastically altered Waverly, Tennessee. One of the worst train explosions of the twentieth century, it killed 16 people, injuring hundreds more, and causing millions of dollars in damage. What could have been dismissed as a single community's terrible misfortune instead became the catalyst for radical change, including the formation of FEMA, much-needed reforms in emergency response training, and the creation and enforcement of national and state safety regulations. Response to the disaster reshaped American infrastructure and laid the groundwork for the future of emergency management and disaster relief-- yet most Americans have never heard of Waverly. Ali weaves a compelling narrative of small-town tragedy set against the broader backdrop of U.S. railroad history, rural healthcare, and other elements of American infrastructure that played a part in the creation-- and the aftermath-- of the Disaster. -- adapted from jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-247). xix, 247 pages : 24 cm.
Table of contents: title: Prologue: Ball of fire -- Introduction -- Derailed -- Morning rounds -- Nautilus Memorial Hospital -- The man called Toad -- From the river to the rail -- Minding the perimeter -- A two-ton barbell -- The end of the world -- Inferno -- Triage in a two-room ER -- The day after -- The greatest sacrifice -- For whom the bells tolled -- The misery of hindsight -- Recovery road -- A force for change -- One agency, one mission -- Hazardous materials -- The struggle of the rural hospital -- Epilogue -- Coda -- In memoriam: The 16 lives lost in the Waverly Train Disaster of 1978