( Atlanta) Firefighters displaced by mold removal

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Firefighters displaced by mold removal

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cherokee/0605/01firefighters.h

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By CLINT WILLIAMS

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 06/01/05

Water, an age-old ally of firefighters, is now the apparent enemy of

two fire stations in Cherokee County.

Firefighters on Tuesday moved out of Fire Station 21 near Ball

Ground in the northeast corner of the county to allow crews to knock

out a bathroom wall to remove mold, which flourishes in dampness.

The station will be closed three to four weeks, said Cherokee County

fire Chief Bruce Borders.

FRANK NIEMEIR/AJC

(ENLARGE)

Cherokee County Fire Department Sgt. Plott moves items out of

mold-plagued Fire Station 21 on Tuesday.

The county will spend up to $78,000 to remove mold from Fire Station

21 and Station 23 on Vaughn Road near Canton, according to County

Attorney Mark Mahler. The four firefighters assigned to Station 21

will work out of a station in the nearby Holly Springs area, and the

service area will be covered by three nearby stations, each four to

five miles away.

Response time will be longer, Borders said, perhaps as much as five

minutes longer.

" I could hypothetical it to death, how important five minutes is, "

Borders said. " If you're having a heart attack, it's important. "

Station 21 was closed for several days in April 2004 to allow for

cleaning mold from the air ducts and air-conditioning system.

Firefighters have complained that mold at Station 21 and two other

nearby stations — Station 4 in Free Home and Station 12 in Waleska —

is causing serious health problems in people assigned to those

stations.

More than 40 firefighters are plaintiffs in a $60 million lawsuit

filed in February 2004 against the company that built those three

stations. The lawsuit accuses M.G. Patton Construction Co. of poor

construction practices that allowed mold to contaminate the

buildings. The firefighters are seeking $250,000 apiece to punish

Patton and anyone else who helped with what they say is a " cover-

up, " plus unspecified damages to compensate them for injuries.

As of Tuesday, the lawsuit had not been scheduled for trial.

" The best evidence we have is that people go on vacation, they get

well. They come back to work, they get sick, " Jasper attorney Larry

, who represents the firefighters, said Tuesday.

The county, which is not involved in the lawsuit, is trying to

address the complaints of firefighters, Mahler said.

" We're trying to do it step by step, " said Mahler, adding that the

county is considering also suing the construction company.

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" The best evidence we have is that people go on vacation, they get

well. They come back to work, they get sick, " Jasper attorney Larry

, who represents the firefighters, said Tuesday.

Isn't it amazing how common sense works?

And while remediation companies spring up and insurance companies

write exclusions for mold, alternative practictioners profit by

selling vitamins and supplements to mold victims and HEPA/Filtration

devices are selling like hot cakes and people are running for their

lives...

the doctors still fight their patients tooth and nail.

The profession that should have been the first to know is the very

last.

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" That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the

most important of all the lessons that history has to teach. "

-Aldous Huxley