(NewsNation) — Frustrations were on full display Thursday night in East Palestine at a town hall public meeting where residents got their first opportunity to address Norfolk Southern following a toxic train derailment in their community.

About 200 people showed up in the high school auditorium and as expected, it got heated.

Residents directed their frustrations not only at the railroad company being held responsible, but also at the mayor.

People are tired, and some of them have shared with NewsNation that this incident has really divided the village between those who think not enough is being done and those who think officials are doing their best.

At the town hall, Norfolk Southern representatives said sorry to East Palestine.

“We are sorry,” said Darrell Wilson, assistant vice president of government relations at Norfolk Southern. “We’re very sorry, we feel horrible for what happened.”

It was the first time since the toxic train derailment on Feb. 3 that East Palestine residents got a public apology from Norfolk Southern.

“Get us out!!” one resident replied.

Residents peppered government officials and the railroad company with their questions.

“If this happened in a richer neighborhood, a richer town would it have been cleaned up a lot faster?” another resident asked.

Norfolk Southern told residents they’ve had no talks about helping relocate families.

NewsNation talked to parents like Candice DeSanzo who weren’t satisfied with the officials’ answers.

“I don’t have the means to leave and it sickens my heart every night that I have to lay down, and to think I’m laying my boys down in a poisonous atmosphere,” said the East Palestine mother. “It comes to a point where it crosses a line of negligence and competence to where it’s criminal.”

Resident Zach Chamberlain quit working after not feeling well on the job. He doesn’t know what his family should do.

“Like a shepherd wouldn’t raise his sheep in a contaminated area. And I don’t want to raise my family in a contaminated area,” Chamberlain said. “I want to talk them to where they’re healthy and can thrive.”

But tensions also grew high between East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway and residents who blamed him for not returning their calls.

“We’re doing the best we can here,” Conaway said. “And by the way, just so everybody knows I’ve tried to keep my cool and now I’ve lost it and I apologize. I’m a part-time mayor, I have to feed my family too.”

NewsNation talked after the town hall with Conaway, who never expected something of this magnitude to hit during his part-time role.

“What makes me emotional is that sometimes I don’t think people think I really care,” he said.

“I usually just run the meetings and go to a couple special meetings here and there,” Conaway continued. “I don’t do that full time, I have a full-time job other than this. So I’m trying to run a plant on the outside of town and do this at the same time. My boss has been gracious where I work. But it’s been a month now, so I sort of have to start easing back into my real job.”

Conaway said he was not satisfied with what Norfolk Southern representatives said during the town hall, but remains “cautiously optimistic.”

Many in East Palestine want acknowledgment and accountability from the very top.

“Where is the president of the United States,” asked East Palestine resident Garry Allison. “He can’t find his way to East Palestine, Ohio, but he can give millions of dollars to Ukraine.”

Also Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins.

Dioxins are the toxic compounds many of the residents have been most fearful of. If they are detected, the EPA will direct immediate cleanup of that area.

Representatives from the railroad company did not make themselves available for comment following the town hall.