Daily News Transcript: Walpole Fire Station walls filled with mold

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(http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/mostPopular.bg) Station walls filled with

mold

By J. Mantone/ Daily News Staff

Wednesday, August 16, 2006 - Updated: 01:56 AM EST

WALPOLE -- The East Walpole Fire Station was closed this week after

complaints of a bad smell in the building revealed extensive mold behind the

second

floor walls, Fire Chief said yesterday.

" It’s closed temporarily, " he said. " It was prompted by the guys, who

started to notice an odor down there and started to complain about it. "

He said the station was shut down Thursday after inspections showed the

firefighters’ training room had extensive moisture inside the walls.

The building was renovated last year to return it to full-timeSept. 1, 2005.

During renovations, a new air conditioning system was installed. That system

caused moisture -- and mold -- to build up in the insulation behind second

floor walls this summer.

said the station was not in use last summer, making this year the

first time the new air system has been tested.

He said the insulation and mold are being removed this week, with Station

Two in East Walpole slated to reopen next week. The three firefighters who

staffed the station 24 hours a day have been reassigned downtown to Fire

Station

One, said.

He said he does not yet know the cost of the work, though the expenses will

likely be limited to materials -- such as sheet rock and wood -- for

re-creating the affected walls. The town’s building maintenance department is

performing much of the work.

" So far, most of it has been kept in-house, with the exception of a couple

of consultants we used to help pinpoint the problem. We also brought the

contractors in that had done work on areas affected, to get their expertise.

They

came out as a courtesy, " said , who said he does not believe the

contractors who installed the HVAC system are to blame for the mold.

Fire Station Two is likely more than 100 years old, he said. Some fire

documents list its construction date as 1929, though there are photographs

depicting the brick masonry structure in 1924.

The East Walpole neighborhood has consistently logged the highest number of

fire and rescue calls of any part of town. said the department has

been able to sustain its response time to East Walpole despite the station

closure, and has been able to use the fire engine and brush truck currently

stored

on the first floor of Station Two during the repairs.

J. Mantone can be reached at 781-433-8354 or amantone@....