Molding safe station

Mold and asbestos have been removed from the Costa Mesa Fire

Department station on Baker Street, though city officials and members

of the firefighters association disagree about what triggered the

maintenance work.

The building is 40 years old and had some maintenance issues that

rain damage brought to the city’s attention, said Terri Cassidy,

human resources manager for Costa Mesa.

“It’s unfortunate that it came through reactive steps due to the

rain, rather than proactive maintenance,” Cassidy said.

But there was much more to the problems than some rain, said Jeff

Janzen, president of the Costa Mesa Firefighters Assn. He maintains

that complaints about illness and skin irritation filed by employees

are what compelled the city to rectify all the problems.

About 10 firefighters reported symptoms such as hay fever, sinus

infections and skin problems that may or may not have been caused by

the working environment, Janzen said.

“The extent of the problems at the station weren’t limited to

leaks in the roof,” Janzen said.

For more than two years, captains reported maintenance problems

that included gas leaks from the stove, rodents, poor drainage,

sewage problems and an abandoned air duct system full of standing

water, he said.

City workers said they were fixing the problems, said Costa Mesa

Fire Chief Jim Ellis.

“As soon as it was brought to my attention, we turned it over to

risk management,” he said.

Ellis added that the risk management department sent firefighters

to a doctor right away.

All health concerns have been handled, Cassidy said.

“There was no hazard, and there are no ongoing health concerns

that we’re aware of,” Cassidy said.

The city hired Enkay Engineering to do the repair work, which was

completed last month.

Janzen said that although he was disappointed in how long it took

the city to deal with firefighters’ concerns, he doesn’t anticipate

it to be a problem in the future.

“Our guys were subject to an unhealthy working environment for

what seemed to us as an unreasonable amount of time,” Janzen said.

“They’re taking care of it -- our guys are out of the station.”

Ellis said if he was aware of firefighters being exposed to

hazardous working conditions, they would be removed immediately.

He said as soon as the concerns were brought to his attention, the

fire station was closed, and the firefighters worked out of the

Sakioka Street station for 10 weeks.

Firefighters have returned to working at the Baker Street station,

though they are temporarily camped out behind the station in two

trailers.

Costa Mesa Fire Engineer Robert Walters said the most important

thing is that the Baker Street firefighters are able to operate from

their station.

Cassidy said now that Enkay is finished with the mold removal,

follow-up test results are back, and the city is cleared to move into

the construction phase of the project, which will go through the

city’s standard bid process. She said it could be eight to 10 weeks

before the construction is finished.

“I think we were all hoping that the total project would be no

more than three months,” Cassidy said. “We’re fully confident that

it’s a usable building, and it will all be fine once we’re all done.”

Janzen said that members of the association just want a safe and

healthy working environment for the firefighters.

“This is something that no one ever dreamed we’d be dealing with

in our careers,” Ellis said. “It’s a learning experience all the way

around.”

* LINDSAY SANDHAM is the news assistant. She can be reached at

(714) 966-4625 or o7lindsay.sandham@latimes.comf7.