Stanley Street Station in Fall River still closed temporarily due to mold

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WLNE) – For the second time in two years, the Fall River fire station on Stanley Street had to be closed to clean the air for elevated levels of mold.

The firefighter union president Jason J. Burns says that they hope to know the results of the air testing after the cleaning by Wednesday morning.

But he also said that the problem likely needs more than a band–aid solution because the station is almost 120 years old.

Built in 1900, Burns says the foundation of the building is porous, and the roof is leaky, which means water gets trapped inside.

“All that kind of settles down in the basement,” said Burns. “It’s dark, it’s dingy, not a lot of air movement.”

The initial testing of the air and subsequent cleaning came after some of the six firefighters who work out of the building complained of feeling ill.

“Maybe a scratchy throat, maybe a headache, maybe something just a bit off, right? And then it clears up when you go back home,” explained Burns.

For now the firefighters have been working out of other stations while the air gets cleaned. But Burns pointed out that it could leave the surrounding area more vulnerable in an emergency.

“If there was a call in this area obviously, you’re adding one or two or three minutes which is very big in our world,” said Burns. “So we need to get them back in their area. The stations are where they are for a strategic reason.”

Right now Burns says the station is set to get a new roof by the end of this fiscal year, and that the city plans to bring in large de–humidifiers for the basement.

Despite these improvements, Burns says they need a more permanent solution.

“That’s going to button up the building, kind of end this, for now,” said Burns. “But that’s the now answer. We need a long term answer. And that may well be a new station.”

If all goes well with the results of the testing, they are hoping to move back in on Stanley Street Wednesday.

The City of Fall River nor Occuhealth returned ABC 6’s request for comment.