Asbestos Discovery Forces Plymouth MA Fire Station Lock Down Firefighters

PLYMOUTH, MA—The sign on the door at Firehouse 7 says it all: "THIS PROPERTY CLOSED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH."

Asbestos was detected on open surfaces inside the North Plymouth station, prompting the site to be locked down until further notice.

Both the town manager and the Board of Health both issued declarations ordering Firehouse 7 closed. The latter order prevents anyone from entering the station until an environmental expert can assess the safety risk.

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"The town is engaging an environmental hygienist to go in there with the appropriate gear," said Birgitta Kuehn, chair of the Plymouth Board of Health. "That person will determine if it is safe to remove the firefighters' gear, so they can perform their duties. All firefighters at Fire House 7 have been relocated to other stations."

The Board of Health held an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning to review the situation. The town board voted unanimously to order the fire station closed and not allow any entry until health condition can be verified.

"According to Massachusetts General Law 111, sections 30, 122 and 123, we have authorized police powers for what we are doing," Kuehn said.

On Tuesday evening at the Select Board meeting, Town Manager Melissa Arrighi announced she was ordering the closure of Firehouse 7, located at 0 Spooner St. in North Plymouth, effective immediately. This joint statement was released Wednesday afternoon:

"Last evening at 5:15 pm, the Town received the lab results from a wall sampling at the temporarily closed North Plymouth Fire Station. These results showed 2% asbestos in the plaster. Management shared this information with the Union and we are in full agreement that the safety of the firefighters is paramount and the station was permanently closed as of 6:30 pm last night. Management and the Union's united concern and focus at this point is providing notification and medical testing to any employee who may have had any exposure. We are also working cooperatively to ensure that arrangements are made for the crews to operate out of other locations until the new Fire Station is ready for occupancy. This effort is to ensure that response times to the North Plymouth area are minimally affected."

It was signed by Arrighi, Fire Chief Ed Bradley, Deputy Fire Chief Neil Foley and Brian Baragwanath, president Plymouth Fire Local 1768.

Keuhn said the Board of Health learned of the testing at about 8 p.m. Tuesday. Members were concerned they were not notified earlier of the testing, so they could take an active part in any planning regarding public safety. Kuehn recently published an open letter to town managers and executives in the Old Colony Memorial about health concerns for employees and residents.

"Two members of the Board of Health met with Town Manager Melissa Arrighi and Select Chair Ken Tavares to discuss this situation," she said. "We want to work more closely with the town on these notifications. We only learned that testing was even underway after we were contacted by firefighter Brian Baragwanath."

According to the Board of Health order, no one is allowed to enter Fire House 7 until its safety has been determined by an environmental professional. Kuehn said the facility will remain vacated until further notice.

"The people of Plymouth rely on our firefighters to protect us," said Board of Health member Jerry Levine. "We are forever indebted to these brave men and women for their service. We want to make sure they have safe conditions so they can perform their duties."

Firehouse 7 was evacuated two weeks ago after fissures developed in the concrete floor of the bay where fire trucks were parked. Problems have also been reported at other fire stations, including Central, which had to be evacuated because of falling debris. In addition, mold has been reported in both the Center and Cedarville fire houses.

Built in 1908, Firehouse 7 is the oldest station still operating in Plymouth. A new fire house is being constructed nearby on Hedge Road to replace this facility. It is expected to be completed next year.

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