Fire crews cope with Wilma damage

[Guest guest]

December 5, 2005

Fire crews cope with Wilma damage

FL.

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20051205/NEWS01/512050344/1006/news01

Repair teams hit 12 stations

BY RICK NEALE

FLORIDA TODAY

Wall samples. Brevard County Fire-Rescue paramedic Lt.

shows the sample section of wall taken for tests from the

lieutenant's bedroom of Station 67, on Nieman Avenue in Melbourne.

Station 67 is under investigation for mold in the manufactured

homes' walls. Stuart, FLORIDA TODAY

Enlarge this image

Damaged stations

Some stations have more severe damage than others ranging from leaky

roofs to mold.

Station 24, Titusville.

Station 26, Port St. .

Station 42, Merritt Island.

Station 62, Satellite Beach.

Station 64, Melbourne Beach.

Station 65, Melbourne Beach.

Station 66, Melbourne.

Station 67, Melbourne.

Station 81, Melbourne.

Station 84, Palm Bay.

Station 88, Palm Bay.

Station 89, Palm Bay.

More than five weeks after Hurricane Wilma blew past, firefighters

continue to discover damp walls and soggy carpeting inside their

living quarters.

Construction workers are repairing structural damage -- including

mold infestation -- at a dozen Brevard County Fire-Rescue stations

from Titusville to Palm Bay. The storm socked the Space Coast with

tropical storm-force winds, exacerbating and exposing previous wind-

and water-related damage from hurricanes Frances and Jeanne,

spokesman Orlando Dominguez said.

The scope of repair ranges from simply removing water stains from

carpets and yanking out wet insulation to the replacement of the

entire roof at Station 24 on Columbia Boulevard in Titusville. A few

days before Thanksgiving, crews at Station 88 on Medplex Parkway in

Palm Bay moved to the Malabar Volunteer Fire Department for fear of

airborne mold spores.

Some firefighters have complained of sneezing, coughing and other

sinus-related maladies, Dominguez said.

Quickel, county facilities director, dispatched a team

Thursday of air-conditioning mechanics, electricians, painters and

carpenters. They labored on 12-hour repair shifts inside the fire

stations during the weekend. Cosmetic work such as paint and drywall

will occur later.

" Their mission is to work between here and Tuesday and remove all

signs of moisture. We're probably not going to have everything

totally completed, " Quickel said.

" I use an analogy: If a patient comes into an emergency room, the

first thing you do is stop the bleeding. Then you go back and see

what it takes to finish the repairs. "

Quickel said he did not have a cost estimate available because

county facilities employees still are assessing damages.

Dominguez said some firefighters will switch to 12-hour work shifts,

instead of the typical 24, while repairs are performed at the

various stations. He said response times and other operational

details will change " not one bit. "

Air-quality tests were performed at most damaged stations to check

for mold spores. Results of most tests still are pending, Dominguez

said.

Air tests inside Station 88 met acceptable health criteria, he said,

but some interior walls remain moist. Firefighters remain stationed

at the Malabar volunteer fire department.

" Our priority is the safety of our firefighters. If our firefighters

need to be displaced, we have already begun to find places, "

Dominguez said.

Quickel said the roof at Station 24 -- " an old, worn-out building " --

will have to be replaced by a contractor in the coming weeks.

" There's no sense in trying to repair the roof, " he said.

Contact Neale at 242-3638 or rneale@...