By Harold McNeil
The Buffalo News
LACKAWANNA, N.Y. — The Lackawanna City Council unanimously agreed Monday to seek an assessment of all three of the city’s municipal firehouses following complaints by firefighters and Mayor Norman I. Polanski that at least one of the buildings poses a safety hazard.
Firefighters who attended Monday’s meeting expressed concern about the brick facade on the exterior of Fire Station No. 3 at 2900 South Park Ave. The dangers also were noted in a Feb. 11 letter from Polanski to lawmakers.
“Falling debris from this building continually poses a life-threatening danger to Lackawanna Fire Department personnel, as well as the general public,” Polanski wrote.
He added that, as of January 2009, the building has been condemned by the city code enforcement officer. In the letter, Polanski recommended constructing a new firehouse since repairing the current building would not be cost-effective.
But Monday, lawmakers initially considered a request by Council President Charles Jaworski that would direct the city comptroller to borrow $975,000 that would be used to repair all three firehouses. Councilman Geoffrey Szymanski of the 2nd Ward insisted that it would be prudent to first get an assessment to determine what specific repairs needed to be done and seek estimates on the cost.
The Council on Monday agreed to direct the mayor to obtain bids for the cost of shoring up Fire Station No. 3 on an emergency basis.
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