Guest guest Posted October 12, 2005 Report Share Posted October 12, 2005 October 11, 2005 Mold in Fire Station http://www2.kval.com/x30530.xml? ParentPageID=x2649 & ContentID=x52358 & Layout=kval.xsl & AdGroupID=x30530 By Dana Rebik Eugene,OR Springfield - Toxic mold has forced a crew of Springfield firefighters to move out of their station and into temporary housing. Firefighters we spoke with say no one liked to work at Springfield Fire Station #1 because they got sick a lot. Illnesses like itchy eyes, headaches and congestion would flare up while on duty and get better when they went home. Union President Jeff Kronser knew firefighters had a right to be concerned, and when the city wasn't doing anything about it, Kronser hired a mold inspector. " The mold that was most concerning from our standpoint is called stachybotrys, and the levels in the station were significantly higher than the outside air, " says Kronser. So high, the spore level reached a count of 299 on the 300 count detector Stan Maple used to test the air inside the station. The mold Maple found is toxic. " That's one that can really cause some health problems, " says Maple. " Lung problems, breathing problems, there is some thought about contributing it to Alzheimers and to SIDS. " The department believes the mold problem came from a leaky roof, shoddy siding and solar water containers that rotted the walls. Once the inspectors found the mold inside the building in June, it wasn't until September the firefighters were moved outside into trailers. " We had to get a place for them to stay. We had to wait for a trailer to become available to put the firefighters in it was not just something you snap your fingers and it appears, " says Battalion Chief Mark . The firefighters will stay in the trailers for another month until the abatement work is complete. Once it's done, the building will be re tested before the firefighters move back in. Springfield taxpayers will be picking up the $66,000 clean up tab. The city has inspected the four other fire stations and those appear to be free of mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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