Plymouth MA Town Tries to Safeguard Firefighters as Stations Deteriorate

PLYMOUTH, MA–A bucket sits by a bed, and peeling and bubbled plaster where the ceiling meets the wall is buckling, leaving long cracks. Walk the room and the floor has a spongy feel to it. Someone bouncing a little on their feet sends vibrations all the way across the room.

The roofs have been leaking for six years, with water literally pouring in at times next to their beds, firefighters at the Manomet Fire Station say. Fire Chief Ed Bradley explains that the town patches just a portion of the roof, and the leak migrates to another spot. The next time it rains, the water will be coming in somewhere else, sometimes directly next to the spot where the water originally poured.

Firefighters here say mice skitter over their sandwiches in the kitchen, the building is falling apart, but the town is only now poised to replace the roof.

Bradley said the town is bidding the roofs out this week on the West and Manomet stations, known as Stations 2 and 5. But he said large portions of the buildings' interiors need to be gutted since water damage has disintegrated walls and spread through floors as well in some cases.

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What will be done in the meantime to safeguard firefighters' health is another question, because a number of firefighters they say they're getting sick from what appears to be mold. A recent survey reveals large numbers of the town's force are suffering from headaches and respiratory issues they say are connected to their living quarters and have nothing to do with their work fighting fires.

Town Manager Melissa Arrighi said the town is mobilizing resources to efficiently address the different issues at the fire stations. But money is tight, she said, and dedicated funding is needed for these buildings long term. She stressed that she has never ignored a complaint about mold in a building; any and all complaints about this issue have been addressed immediately, she added.

Station 7, in North Plymouth, which was evacuated last week to prevent a floor from collapsing, was infested with mold. Large wall areas were covered in white, furry patches. That station will move to a brand new building on Hedge Road once it is completed in the spring.

Station 1, downtown, had been evacuated 24 days earlier as repairs to the roof sent debris into the second-floor living and office spaces. Bradley called these repairs to this building tantamount to setting fire to taxpayer money, because the building isn't large enough and lacks the proper facilities.

At the Cedarville Fire Station, Station 6, condensation inside duct work created mold, and the town cleaned the inside of these ducts, Bradley said. But he noted that on hot days the air conditioning can't keep up with the demand and the cycle starts all over again, with mold appearing.

"The problem was cleaned, not fixed," he said.

The town has been patching problems as they surface, painting, installing ceiling tiles in buildings with major roof leaks, cleaning issues that need overhauls, according to Bradley and other firefighters in these stations. The scenario spreads to at least five of the town's seven fire stations and begs the question of why the town isn't responding in a more comprehensive manner.

Critics, like Precinct 8 Rep. and Chairman Kathryn Holmes, say Town Meeting hasn't responded because Town Meeting hasn't known about it.

"People in those buildings had to have been calling the town to complain about these roofs daily or weekly – about water leaking through the light fixtures and the mold it is causing," Holmes said. "Not only are there OSHA violations, it's jeopardizing our town employees' health. Meanwhile the town manager has been pushing for downtown repairs like the promenade. There's been a glamour project to redo our waterfront, which, when it didn't pass, they asked us to go back and have a special town meeting to get it approved. At no time were any of these building issues raised to Town Meeting. It's egregious."

Holmes said the neglect of these buildings will have a staggering impact on residents' taxes to the tune of millions of dollars. The promenade project, which Town Meeting did not approve, was priced at roughly $15 million.

Arrighi said everyone wants safe and secure facilities for public safety and emergency response officials, but there simply isn't enough money in the budget to cover the costs associated with major repairs. She noted that a request for a new fire headquarters was submitted last year, but not well received.

WBZ Radio reporter Karyn Regal Tweeted Nov. 8 that she had spoken to Arrighi. "She says, 'I need to take responsibility.' She says, 'I should have been advocating harder' for the town's other stations," the Tweet reads. Arrighi made no such statements to the Old Colony Memorial. When asked if she were retracting the WBZ Radio statement, she did not respond.

"Until a significant amount of money can be borrowed for repairs, temporary repairs have been necessary, such as the replacement of wet and stained ceiling tiles, even when roof repairs are not yet contracted, and cleaning HVAC ducts," Arrighi told the OCM. "Long-term planning is needed to replace windows, more roofs, and to install new flooring and update kitchens and bathrooms."

Bradley said firefighters file state of the station reports annually, and he has contacted the town repeatedly asking for help, but that the town has let these issues fester and grow. His request for a new roof for the headquarters building dates to 2009, he said. Requests for new roofs for other stations, like West and Manomet, have been made repeatedly for the past six years.

West Plymouth Fire Station shares many of the same issues as Manomet, with evidence of chronic leaks, water damage, doors that don't close properly and windows propped up on sticks. Fire gear hangs in cubbies in the apparatus bays, which Bradley says is not advised, since the gear should be stored in a closed-in area, and not potentially exposed to more toxins in the apparatus bay areas.

Firefighters Jason Pierce and Trevor Nadile and others assigned to Manomet shook their heads during a tour of their station Friday, noting that they feel their respiratory issues are connected to mold they believe is lurking in the walls, particularly the sections where unchecked leaks have saturated insulation and dry wall for years.

Pierce said they all work staggered 24-hour shifts with four days off in between. Pierce, Nadile and other firefighters say their respiratory symptoms are lessened during the four-day period when they are off and then return with a vengeance when they reenter the building for their next 24-hour shift.

The sprinkler system in the bays regularly freezes in the cold weather, Nadile said, gesturing to holes cut in the ceiling so workers could access the pipes. The holes are problematic, however, because exhaust from the bay migrates through them and into the firefighters' living space above, where they sleep. Old air conditioning units that haven't been completely cleaned inside and out or replaced are also of concern to firefighters who say their stays at the station make them sick.

A walk through the mechanics bay area at the West Plymouth station prompts the urge to leave it, as fumes are intense. Bradley led the way up the stairs to the second floor area where a single chain serves as a railing, and is the only measure preventing one from plummeting to the first floor and apparatus below should he or she trip. He noted that a wall or balustrade that lifts up and down is what industrial professionals use now, so things can be loaded from the first to the second floor safely.

These stations are where firefighters need to go to recharge and relax between calls, Bradley explained. These are employees, sworn to protect the lives and property of Plymouth residents, who are living in unacceptable stations that contain health hazards like mold and fumes with so much water damage it is hard to even track it, he added.

"People don't realize that this is where we live," Nadile explained.

Pierce and others said the town isn't retaining firefighters like it used to, due to these living conditions.

"We hired 18; three resigned in three months," Bradley added. "On Oct. 7, we hired one guy who stayed two weeks and resigned. They used to fight for these jobs."

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