By Matthias Gafni
Vallejo Times Herald (California)
Copyright 2006 The Times-Herald
All Rights Reserved
The Vallejo fire chief Tuesday ordered the closure of a station and the relocation of its nine firefighters after an environmental testing firm found mold and other pollutants in the sleeping quarters, officials said.
The fire department requested the testing after some firefighters in Station 24 on Oakwood Street reported illnesses often related to mold, fire department spokesman Bill Tweedy said.
“There was more than one person having problems,” Tweedy said. Most of the firefighters suffered from respiratory related illnesses, he said.
In addition to detecting mold, the company found the presence of diesel fumes, asbestos floor tiles and lead paint, city spokesman Mark Mazzaferro said. An environmental toxicologist will conduct a more thorough examination of the station Thursday, he said.
The nine firefighters, an engine and all the infected station’s equipment has been relocated to Station 27 on Columbus Parkway until further notice, Tweedy said.
“Our two main concerns are the protection of the community and the health of our firefighters,” Parker said in a released statement.
Parker directed each firefighter from the affected station to have a medical examination at Kaiser Occupational Health, the city’s medical provider, Tweedy said. It’s unclear what caused the reported illnesses in the station and the level of contamination, Parker said.
“We want to err on the side of caution,” Parker said in the statement.
Mold can cause an array of illnesses in humans, depending on the level and type of contamination and the sensitivity of the individual.
The fire department’s coverage of the Oakwood area will operate as if the affected station went on a call and other stations needed to cover for it, Tweedy said.
“It might increase response times to some areas by a minute or so, but other than that, it will be the same,” he said, adding that in some instances response times could be faster.
If the situation is more serious and the firefighters can’t return to Station 24 for a longer period of time, Tweedy said the department is weighing alternatives, such as temporarily placing the firefighters along Oakwood Street in a modular office.
Station 24 is one of the department’s older fire stations, built in the 1960s. The building shares a wall with Springstowne Library, but officials said they don’t believe the library was affected.
“While they are connected, there’s enough of a barrier that it should not be a problem for the library,” Mazzaferro said.
The long-term future of the fire station is up in the air.
“If it’s a health hazard, we will have to take action to renovate, retrofit or somehow remedy the situation,” Tweedy said.