sanitize - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T09:45:13Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/sanitizeBoynton Beach: Air-quality issues cleaned up at two fire stationshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-air-quality-issues-cleaned-up-at-two-fire-stations2016-03-30T14:52:23.000Z2016-03-30T14:52:23.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /><br /> The city recently agreed to pay more than $221,000 for work done to clean and sanitize two fire stations, including one that serves Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes.<br /> At station No. 1, which serves the coastal communities, the mold-removal work cost Boynton Beach $69,673. The station, on Boynton Beach Boulevard near City Hall, closed in early December after mold was found. It reopened Jan. 18. Crews worked out of station No. 4 on South Federal Highway. <br /> “I hope we don’t have to go down this road again,” said Commissioner Mack McCray at the March 16 meeting. “That was $221,569 that I wished we could have saved.”<br /> An additional $20,575 was paid to send 46 employees who claimed they suffered from air quality problems in station Nos. 1 and 3 for chest X-rays and for 28 of them to see a pulmonologist. <br /> Only five are still in the process of being verified, Tim McPherson, risk management director, told the City Commission. Employees floated between station Nos. 1 and 3, making it impossible to identify at which station they contracted the problem, he said.<br /> Parts of a sleep apnea machine used by an employee also became contaminated, not the entire machine, McPherson told commissioners.<br /> Interim Fire Chief Greg Hoggatt explained what his staff is doing to stop the air-quality problems: <br /> • Conducting annual inspections of the stations by senior staff,<br /> • Reminding captains at the stations that they are responsible for cleanliness at the stations and that housekeeping needs to be improved, <br /> • Reporting any leaks that need to be fixed,<br /> • Reviewing standard operating guidelines on cleanliness and determining whether they are the most efficient ways to do them, and <br /> • Reminding firefighters to consider the stations as their homes and to treat them as such.<br /> Semi-annual deep cleanings are once again done by an outside firm. When budget cuts were made citywide in 2008, the cleanings were done in-house, Hoggatt said. <br /> At fire station No. 1, the flaps didn’t seal properly, allowing engine exhaust and other airborne particles to enter the bunk rooms where firefighters sleep, risk management workers found.<br /> HVAC rooms at both stations were found to be dirty and littered with garbage. The units need to be cleaned at least monthly, according to the risk management report. <br /> The City Commission approved the expenditure unanimously by a 4-0 vote. Commissioner David Merker was absent.<br /> Commissioner McCray asked, “Who dropped the ball?”<br /> “The team dropped the ball,” Hoggatt said. “No one place was the weak link.”</p></div>