Firehouse issues could be pricey

The Longboat Key Town Commission will wrestle with paying for pension debt, capital improvements and beach projects in the coming years.

But, come October, the commission may have to deal with another major financial issue.

Town Manager Dave Bullock and the commission have agreed to a $25,000 line item in the Longboat Key Fire Rescue budget for fiscal year 2015 to pay for a study that will reveal whether the south fire station at 2162 Gulf of Mexico Drive needs repairs or needs to eventually be replaced with a new multimillion-dollar facility.

Longboat Key Fire Rescue Chief Paul Dezzi highlighted several concerns with the building during a July 10 tour with the Longboat Observer.

The building is far from old, although it’s currently the oldest town-owned facility at 28 years old.

Built in 1986, it was constructed with an exterior insulation foam system called EIFS.

Also known as synthetic stucco, it’s a popular exterior finish contractors still use today. The EIFS layer bonds to form a hollow covering to a building.

Although the product has been known to work well, some versions of the product from the 1980s reportedly cause structural problems in areas with high moisture content, especially when openings in the EIFS layer allow moisture to seep into the structure through cracks and holes.

That’s what has happened at the south fire station, where several cracks and holes in the EIFS layer exist on the building’s sides.

“EIFS causes humidity and potential condensation issues on the inside of buildings when issues with its integrity arise,” said Public Works Project Manager James Linkogle.

Two months ago, firefighter/paramedics found interior black mold on air-conditioning vents in their living quarters.

Twice, the town paid for a company to test the mold, and tests came back negative for potential health hazards. The air conditioner’s air handler, which sits in a humid closet without ventilation, was covered with mold. Measures were taken to reduce humidity in the air-conditioning closet and the firehouse.

The air handler, Dezzi said, was cleaned and sealed. No further mold has been found, although the town will continue testing to assuage concerns from some firefighters who believe the building causes health concerns.

Burley Withers, a South Florida-based manufacturer’s representative for Sto. Corp., the leading manufacturer for EIFS systems nationwide, believes the building most likely just needs exterior repairs.

“EIFS systems keep moisture out well and issues that arose years ago about moisture concerns were proven to be unfounded,” Withers said. “There are newer, drainable systems that could be used to repair the exterior.”

Most of the moisture concerns, Withers said, usually are attributed to incidental moisture coming in through windows or doors. And because the firehouse was built with concrete block, Withers said it’s unlikely any moisture that has seeped past the EIFS structure is harming the integrity of the building.

His and hers
Potential moisture and mold concerns aren’t the only issues with the building.

When the building was constructed, there wasn’t a need for separate men and women locker area facilities and bathrooms.

That’s not the case today, because the town has four female firefighters.

A plan that Dezzi calls “not good enough,” has women in the bathroom with the door locked to shower and both men and women changing in front of their lockers at the same time.

“We have to address the issue,” said Dezzi, who notes there are also not separate facilities for men’s and women’s bathrooms and lockers at the north end fire station. “It’s a substandard situation.”

The south fire station also has an outdated alarm system that will cost $7,000 to replace.

The public entrance, Dezzi said, also isn’t adequate, and there’s not a proper ventilation system in the garage that allows fire truck exhaust fumes to exit the building.

“Exhaust fumes are staying in the building when the trucks drive off,” Dezzi said.

There is already a $60,000 budget line item to replace old ductwork in the south fire station if the assessment that will be performed in October states the building can be renovated.

“We’re putting a lot of money into this firehouse to keep it going,” Dezzi said. “We just need an assessment to figure out which way we need to go on this.”

Town Manager Dave Bullock said when there are concerns about a building where firefighters spend a third of their lives, “you have to take it seriously.”

“It appears there will be some significant revisions, but we don’t know what those encompass yet,” Bullock said.

Commissioner Lynn Larson, who met with Dezzi at the firehouse to see the issues firsthand last week, said she’s anxious to see what the assessment provides.

“With our budget constraints, we need to be creative with the solution to this building,” Larson said.
But if Dezzi had his wish?

“My wish would be a new, functional firehouse with a multiuse facility that could include room for meeting space for residents and maybe space for a small medical center that residents could help design through workshops,” Dezzi said. “But that’s just a wish.”

Click here to view a list of repairs to Fire Station 92 located at 2162 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]