By Kylie Cameron
The Wichita Eagle
WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita Fire Station 15 at Lincoln and Rock will remain closed for at least another two weeks.
And more stations may have to come offline as remediation work for mold issues at nearly 90% of the city’s fire stations continue.
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Public Works Director Gary Janzen said firefighters at Station 11, also in south Wichita, will soon have to be relocated while remediation work is done.
He said two more stations, 3 and 13 in northwest Wichita, will also likely be taken offline while remediation work is done.
“I know it’s never going to be ideal to relocate firefighters. I get that,” Janzen told the City Council. “But from reducing the risk and protecting the firefighters during the work even for 3 and 13 it would be best to get folks out of there.”
City staff did not rule out whether more stations will also have to close temporarily as remediation work continues.
Remediation work on stations 3 and 13 should be a lot quicker than at Station 11, Janzen said.
“We’re going to try to get a contractor to do turnkey work on both of those stations,” he said.
Wichita’s fire union told the Eagle earlier this month that mold has long been an issue at fire stations.
But the station closures come as Wichita voters are heading to the polls to decide on a 1% sales tax, which would partially address maintenance issues at city fire stations.
“This has been a problem for decades and decades,” said Wichita Firefighters IAFF Local 135 President Ted Bush. “... I know a lot of people are saying that timing is bad, but I take phone calls from sick firemen and I have to say something. I can’t just sit there and not be concerned about it because of the political climate.”
Wichita Fire Chief Tammy Snow, who announced her retirement Monday, earlier indicated that some of the issues at stations went unreported by firefighters.
She said more training is being done with firefighters on how they can report mold and other issues to the city to be addressed.
“If they don’t know about it, they can’t fix it, especially like on water leaks,” Snow said Tuesday. “So went back and reiterated the utilization of how to fill out a facility report, and encouraging our members to do so.”
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