Mold repairs planned for Gresham fire station

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Mold repairs planned for Gresham fire station

OregonLive.com - Portland,OR

Categories: East Multnomah County

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/03/repairs_planned_for_g

resham_fi.html

GRESHAM -- Fire District 10 will tear off and replace the leaky roof

at the Gresham Fire Department's Station 76, which was shut down

last month because of health concerns caused by potentially

dangerous mold.

Gresham and district officials met Wednesday night to address the

situation, which forced firefighters to work out of a Multnomah

County Emergency Management mobile command trailer in the parking

lot and sleep in travel trailers.

Multnomah County Fire District 10, which provides fire service to

about 8,000 residents in unincorporated areas of the county, owns

the building. Gresham is under contract to run the station for Fire

District 10.

The station, at Southeast 302nd Avenue and Dodge Park Boulevard, was

shut down Feb. 20 after firefighters in January, complaining of

upper respiratory problems and sinus pain, discovered large sections

of interior walls covered with black mold.

An independent testing company, Succeed Safety and Health Services

of ville, found elevated levels of mold in the 40-year old

building, in some cases three to 17 times the levels found in

outside air.

But the company stopped short of declaring them a health risk,

saying the results " cannot be used to predict adverse health

effects. Medical opinion is always necessary to determine if adverse

health effects are present and are caused by exposure to

microorganisms. "

Mike McKeel, past chairman and current board member for Fire

District 10, said in addition to replacing a leak-prone flat roof --

perhaps with a peaked roof -- the district will pay for temporary

living quarters, employee overtime and meals related to the station

closure, and medical expenses caused by the mold.

McKeel said the district will pay to remove all mold inside the

station and replace under-slab ducting with ceiling-level ducting to

improve ventilation. The city is offering to arrange contractors for

repairs to make the building inhabitable, said Gresham spokeswoman

Bridges-Shephard.

-- Stuart Tomlinson; stuarttomlinson@...