E'town firehouse evacuated due to mold

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E'town firehouse evacuated due to mold

April 11, 2007 07:22 PM EDT

Mold invades firehouse: Shayla Reaves reports

http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=6357434 & nav=0RZF

By Shayla Reaves

(ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky.) -- It was another day away from home for four

town firefighters and their sergeant. That's because mold

was found in the firehouse, and while it wasn't enough to make them

sick, they were forced out. WAVE 3's Shayla Reaves has more on how

this is impacting fire coverage in town.

Firefighters are accustomed to dangerous situations -- but not in

their own firehouse. As E'town Fire Chief Hulsey puts it: " I

know firefighting. I don't know anything about mold. "

It's mold that keeps returning at Station 3, and it's to blame for

an evacuation on Sunday after it took over Sgt. 's

sleeping quarters. " It's just black up over my bed, " he said.

Terry Reeves a firefighter/engineer at Station 3, says " it was

coming out of the vent across the ceiling and down the wall. "

It's a problem the firefighters have been trying to fix for two

years.

says " we've cleaned with bleach, and had it repainted, but it

still just continues to keep coming back. "

When none of their methods worked, a Texas company was hired to

help, forcing the firefighters out of Station 3 and into

headquarters.

The move slows Station 3's response time by 30 seconds.

" As far as their health is, we're going to accept that 30 seconds, "

Chief Hulsey said. " Now if it gets more, we may have to get a

trailer or something different, because it looks like they're going

to be out another week to 10 days. "

The CDC blames mold for skin and eye irritation, wheezing and nasal

stuffiness -- a symptom firefighter Terry Reeves has experienced.

" Most of the mornings you wake up with a like sinus headache, a

little congestion, " Reeves said, " then go to the bathroom and blow

your nose a couple times. Then everything seems pretty much normal

after that. "

E'town Mayor Willmoth Jr. says the city is taking a proactive

approach. " You don't sit around and wait for it to be bad; you want

to know what is going on with it. "

The focus now is removing the mold permanently so Station 3 is again

safe.

" I mean it's a little inconvenience for the the citizens of

town right now because we're having a little bit longer

response time, Hulsey said. " But I would rather have that than my

men getting sick and then we've got a permanent response time

problem. "

Hulsey expects final testing results by the end of the week. He says

it could take at least 10 days after that before crews can return to

the station.

Online Reporter: Shayla Reaves

Online Producer: Dever