Massachusetts fire stations to remove asbestos

Newton, MA - As a result of last month's asbestos incident at Fire Station 3 where asbestos fragments fell on firefighters while renovation work was being done on the building, the city had asbestos removed from Station 2 in Auburndale this past weekend.

As a precautionary measure, firefighters and fire trucks on duty during the cleanup were sent away from the building to remain on standby in different parts of the district in case of an emergency.

A spokesman for the city said that the asbestos discovered at Station 2 were not friable or damaged so there was no risk of exposure. He added that none of the air samples taken had tested positive for asbestos fibers.

However, according to an April 11 report by FLI Environmental, an indoor air quality monitoring and consultancy company, friable asbestos had been found at the station on four separate occasions. Locations where the damaged asbestos had been found included the boiler room, a bathroom, a closet, a hallway, and various other areas.

Tom Lopez, president of the Fire Union, questioned the classification methods of whether or not the asbestos found was friable, saying asbestos is prone to becoming released when it is damaged and that was the condition of the discovered asbestos. He also didn't like the idea of having to shut down a fire station for nearly 10 hours to perform asbestos cleanup but said he knew it was a necessary action.

The city has created a $2.2 million plan to have every station renovated over the next 10 years, with asbestos cleanup accounted for in the budget.

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