Firefighters have complained that mold

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Firefighters juggle staffing while cleanup continues

By DOUG PAYNE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 04/21/04

Firefighters usually assigned to Cherokee County Station 21 in Ball

Ground will answer calls from other stations for a few more days

while a cleaning crew scours mold from the air ducts and air

conditioning system at their customary home base.

Firefighters have complained that mold at Station 21, Station 4 in

Free Home and Station 12 in Waleska is causing serious health

problems to people assigned to those station.

The problem has led to a lawsuit against the company that built those

three stations and two other firehouses, alleging that bad

construction practices allowed mold to contaminate some of the

structures. More than 60 firefighters have signed on as plaintiffs in

the suit.

Jeff Whidby, chief of the Cherokee Fire Department's 2nd Battalion

and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said the cleaning

operation, which started Monday, is expected to continue for four or

five days, after which environmental specialists will conduct tests

in the building to see whether mold can still be found.

Whidby said firefighters welcome the cleaning effort and view it

as " a step in the right direction. That's not all we're looking for.

We're happy to see they're doing something, but this isn't going to

remove the total problem. "

He said a consultant hired by the firefighters has examined Station

21 and believes contamination in the building " is probably bad enough

that it'll have to be gutted. "

The dispersal of Station 21's staff to Station 22 at Bridge Mill and

Station 2 in Ball Ground will not delay any emergency response

because the stations have overlapping coverage areas and often

respond to the same calls, said Cherokee Fire Department spokesman

Tim Cavender. He noted that when firefighters from one station are

called out on an emergency, subsequent calls to that station are

routinely covered by other stations.

Whidby said county officials are waiting to see the results of the

cleanup operation before deciding whether to take similar measures at

Stations 4 and 12.

Jasper attorney Larry , who is representing the firefighters in

their lawsuit, said an environmental medicine team from the

University of Texas will be coming to Cherokee County to do a medical

study on the firefighters, who say they suffer from a variety of

ailments they blame on exposure to mold in the fire stations. The

firefighters say that since Station 21 in Ball Ground, Station 4 in

Free Home and Station 12 in Waleska opened in 2002 they have

experienced health problems ranging from headaches, respiratory

problems and skin rashes to blindness and loss of hearing.

said the lawsuit now includes civilian plaintiffs, including

one who made 11 visits to Station 21 and suffered 11 excruciating

headaches that required trips to the emergency room.

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