March 21, 2003 -- The Brooklyn firehouse where firefighters have suffered strange growths on their hands and some of their wives have had miscarriages has been reopened after two more tests declared it safe, The Post has learned. Initial results of the first round of FDNY tests, which were conducted at Ladder Co. 131-Engine Co. 279 in January, revealed 24 potentially cancer-causing contaminants existed in the air.
The fire station, at Smith and Lorraine streets in Red Hook, was closed March 3 to protect the firefighters' health after the preliminary figures were provided to the FDNY.
But the building was reopened Sunday, after fire brass, the city's Department of Health, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and authors of the studies determined the firefighters were no longer at risk.
