Mold or Mildew Closes Two Fla. Stations

Two of Boynton Beach's five fire stations are closed while the city is investigating health concerns in the buildings, Mayor Jerry Taylor told The Palm Beach Post on Monday.

And, there are air-quality monitors at City Hall.

While Taylor said the closings are because of either mold or mildew in the two fire buildings, Vice Mayor Joe Casello said he was told it was the former.

There is no date for when the stations on Boynton Beach Boulevard at City Hall, and on Congress Avenue at Miner Road will reopen, said Tim McPherson, the city's human resources and risk administrator. He said the city is working with the firefighters' union to determine that.

The employees of both stations have been moved to the other stations. Two from one station have already been tested and came back with elevated levels of feathers and feces in their lungs and blood, The Post reported in November.

No one on Monday could tell The Post to what stations the employees were moved. McPherson said emergency response times have not been affected, however Casello — who was a firefighter for 33 years in Worcester, Mass. — said he is questioning how that is possible.

"As a former firefighter, obviously the response times is big with me," he said. "Especially during a medical emergency — heart attacks, choking — those type of issues, even in the case of a fire …All those things related to public safety seconds count."

McPherson confirmed the closings of the two stations but declined to provide further details, citing an open investigation.

The closed buildings are the older of the five. Station 3 on Congress was built about 1986 and Station 1 on Boynton Beach Boulevard was built in 1966, McPherson said.

Station 3 has been closed since late October. When the building was closed, the city told The Post it was because of the discovery of three dead mice in an air duct. In November, McPherson told The Post the city received workers' compensation claims from two firefighters who had chest X-rays and blood work done that showed an elevated amount of feces and feathers.

The dead mice were found in the air duct in the bathroom, and rodent feces was also found in the bathroom. An air-quality test showed mold there as well, McPherson said.

The city offered employees who have slept at that station since Oct. 1 to get tested at Boynton's expense. They were offered chest X-rays locally and then take the results to a Port St. Lucie doctor for pulmonary function testing and review of the X-rays.

Station 3's findings led to a check of Station 1. Taylor said crews found mold or mildew in that station and cleaned the vents there. The building was closed a couple of weeks ago, he said. Casello said it was because of mold.

That station is connected to City Hall, which now has equipment set up that tests the air quality. One of them is set up at the main entrance and is plugged in to an outlet. Casello said the monitor is collecting air samples.

The city is "trying to expedite" the situation as "quickly as possible," Casello said, and he complimented the city for offering free testing to employees, however, he doesn't understand why the process is taking so long.

Station 3 is in Casello's district. In November, he told The Post emergency response times for that station have increased by about 34 seconds. He said driving from High Ridge Road — where station 5 is — west to Lawrence Road takes longer than that "even at two o'clock in the morning."

"So I question the response times," he said.

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©2015 The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.)