Newton, Massachusetts – Firefighters at Fire Station Three in Newton, Massachusetts have spent the last week wondering if they’ve been exposed to asbestos.

Since the incident occurred last Wednesday, city and state investigators have been trying to determine whether exposure occurred.

FLI Environmental Inc was initially hired by the city to test the incident area. Those tests came back negative, but there are additional test results to come. Both firefighters and investigators are anxiously awaiting the results of tests carried out by Division of Occupational Safety, which they hope will confirm the negative result obtained by FLI.

The asbestos exposure incident occurred when contractors were carrying out renovations in Fire Station Three. As the work was being performed, debris from the ceiling fell onto four firefighters who were nearby.

Asbestos is known to be present in the building, so an investigation was initiated. Initial tests carried out on the air and the dust in the incident area came back negative.
Mayoral spokesperson Jeremy Solomon said “Our foremost concern is for the safety and health of building occupants. Clearly, before any [future] work is done in the walls or ceilings, better precautions need to be taken.”

Newton Fire Department community liaison Lieutenant Allan Leone said none of the firefighters had seen a doctor, and that firefighters had occupied the building since the incident.

Fire Union President Tom Lopez says that the state Department of Occupational Safety has ordered that all firehouse renovations be stopped, pending an investigation. Lopez said “I asked the station to be closed and they said no. A lot of people didn’t know what environment they are working in.”

Tom Lopez isn’t satisfied that the firefighters at Station Three are safe, despite the report from FLI that indicated there was no asbestos present in the air or dust, as the asbestos is now being removed from the station before renovations resume.

Lopez is also concerned about other incidents that might have threatened the safety of firefighters. At Station One in Newton, several members of the station experienced skin and respiratory problems while electrical work was being carried out, due to exposure to electrical insulation and dust. The station was supplied with a portable air purifier and a cleaning company was hired to clean the debris.

Mayoral spokesperson Jeremy Solomon says that the city is aware of the presence of asbestos, and that every precaution is being taken to ensure the safety of the workers at Station Three.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 at 4:19 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Massachusetts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.