Norfolk Southern’s decision to call for the burning of five derailed train cars in East Palestine, Ohio, was “jaw-dropping” and a consequence of poor communication by the railroad, a local emergency management official told a Senate panel March 9.

The Guardian reports that Eric Brewer, director and chief of hazardous materials response for the emergency services department in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, just over the state line from East Palestine, described to the chamber’s environment and public works committee an initially chaotic response to the February 3 derailment.

“The boots on the ground crews were great to work with. It seems as bosses or management gets there, that’s where the communication failures start,” Brewer said.

Read more: After Ohio Train Derailment, Norfolk Southern Unveils a New Safety Plan

Brewer, whose agency was among those responding to the accident, described how Norfolk Southern initially raised concerns that one of the derailed tank cars was “starting to heat up” and could explode, leading to local officials creating an evacuation zone around the site of the accident. The railroad then suggested destroying that tank car in a controlled detonation, he said.

“We were assured this was the safest way to mitigate the problem,” he said. Then, Norfolk Southern asked to burn five cars, rather than just one.

“This changed the entire plan, as it would now impact a much larger area. I think this confusion was probably a result of the lack of communication from Norfolk Southern and the fact that they weren’t present during these planning meetings,” Brewer said.

He later added: “The decision to go from the one tank car to the five was jaw-dropping,” and “that’s probably why we’re here today.”