Mold and leaks seep into station

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Mold and leaks seep into station

Firefighters irked by decay

By Pam Wight Staff Writer

Whittier,CA

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_3260737

MONTEBELLO - Firefighters at Montebello Fire Station 2 are anxious

to resolve an ongoing moisture problem that has intermittently

caused unhealthy mold levels to accumulate.

Built in 1991, Station 2 is the newest of Montebello Fire

Department's three stations but has been plagued since its

completion with water leakage from the floor and walls, said

firefighter Marc Valentine, president of the Montebello

Firefighters' Association. The city spent $630,000 for repairs

earlier this year, only to see the flooring peel away three days

after the work was completed, due to moisture.

Valentine said the firefighters at Station 2 want the city's

Building Department to figure out the root cause of the constant

dampness and to fix it.

" Throughout the entire process, we believe the building department

wasn't dealing with the whole problem, " he said. " That's where the

downfall was - in not seeing the real causes. "

Valentine said the site was built in a concave area that allows

water to flow toward the station rather than away - a problem of

design.

When the building first went into service, puddles would form from

water seeping through the concrete slab, he said.

" We hoped they'd fix some of those inherent problems while they were

doing the repairs earlier this year, " Valentine said. " Our chief

(Jim ) has been great in helping us. Our problem is and was with

the Building Department and their reluctance to acknowledge the

problem. "

No one from the Building Department was available Monday to respond

to Valentine's comments. But Mayor Bill Molinari said the city dealt

with the issue as soon as possible and allotted the $630,000 for

repairs.

" We responded immediately to remediate the situation, " Molinari

said. " It was an undetected leak, possibly from the roof, which is

not that uncommon in buildings, and we moved them into temporary

quarters meanwhile.

" Everything that's come up, the city has addressed. If there are

more problems, we'll address them. "

Battalion Chief Steve Huson said the department had no issue with

how the city handled Station 2's leakage problems. He said several

mold specialists from Irvine were hired to determine what kinds of

mold were present and core samples of the concrete were checked for

moisture levels.

" There were a number of things, " Huson said. " It was built on a flat

surface without a lot of drains leading to the street - an

architectural problem. But they're still trying to figure out the

real cause of it. "

Valentine said a new floor covering would be installed in the next

few weeks that has a higher vapor density, preventing the glue from

coming loose from the floor while moisture is pushed to the outside

of the building.

" We just want to have a healthy and clean work environment, "

Valentine said. " It's better now, but we're just very reluctant to

be overly ecstatic until we see it is fixed. "

pam.wight@...

(562) 698-0955, Ext. 3029