Repairs to solve fire station mold problems

In the meantime, a manufactured home will house Station 76 firefighters

By Mara Stine

The Gresham Outlook, Mar 30, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

John Klicker / The Outlook

Capt. Cindy Thompson-Baird waits for the 14-by-66 foot manufactured home to arrive at Fire Station 76 on Friday.

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It’s moving day, the first of many, at Gresham’s Fire Station 76.

More than a month after experts collected mold and air samples from the 40-year-old building, firefighters are moving into a singlewide manufactured home while contractors repair the building.

Tests conducted on Feb. 20 by Succeed Safety & Health Services of Wilsonville revealed “total fungal concentrations” of 3.6 to 17 times higher than those found in outside air. The most significant included elevated levels of Penicillium and Aspergillus versicolor. Both are considered some of the most common indoor molds found in the United States, according to the New York Department of Health. Spores from both are known to cause allergic reactions as well as respiratory diseases.

The company didn’t deem the fire station a health hazard — “medical opinion is always necessary to determine if adverse health effects are present and are caused by exposure to microorganisms,” reads a March 20 industrial hygiene report, which recommended those working there wear respirators, as well as the following repairs:

• Moving and fixing ventilation ducts, cleaning the ventilation system,

• repairing roof leak, including a possibly rotting wooden roof beam,

• and removing and replacing moldy or water-damaged building materials such as walls and carpet.

Now, crews are moving into a manufactured home that arrived Friday, March 30.

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