The Rock Community Fire Protection District will temporarily shut down one of its houses for up to two months so mold can be removed and other projects completed at the building, Chief Kevin Wingbermuehle said.
He said House 3 at 3540 Lonedell Road west of Arnold is expected to close Monday, Nov. 7, and remain shuttered for about eight weeks.
“We never want to close a station for any timeframe,” said Wingbermuehle, who took over as chief following the retirement of Jeff Broombaugh on June 30. “In this scenario, we looked at all the options to avoid doing so, but it just isn’t feasible based on the scope of work to be performed.”
The fire district’s Board of Directors voted 3-0 on Oct. 13 to pay $229,238 for the work.
Wingbermuehle said because of the health risks associated with the mold problem and the numerous other projects that need to be completed at House 3, the district did not solicit bids for each project and instead hired Wachter Inc. in Arnold as a general contractor. Then, Wachter solicited bids from other companies to perform mold remediation, drywall replacement, remodeling, electric and concrete work.
“There are five or six different contractors involved with the different projects,” he said. “Because of some of the numbers that came back, I talked to the board and said technically, we didn’t have to get additional bids because it is an emergency. We did ask if (Wachter) would get more bids in a timely manner, and they did get more bids for different types of work. All of those bids came in higher than the original, and the board approved the original bid.”
The problems at House 3 started about two years ago following work to replace the building’s leaking roof. Mold growth was found in the building, Wingbermuehle said.
“We hired an environmental hygienist to do some sampling, and he confirmed mold, primarily in the kitchen and laundry area,” Wingbermuehle said. “We also have some general maintenance and repair work to be done. We also have a broken sewer pipe in front of the engine bay. Along with additional concrete repair, we are coordinating the work to be completed at the same time in order to minimize station closure time.”
Wingbermuehle said the house has to be closed because of health risks to the firefighters during the mold remediation process and because there will not be access to the building’s bay during the concrete work.
Wingbermuehle said crews will be relocated to House 4, 3889 Miller Road, which is just more than 2 miles south of House 3.
“Obviously, there will be some impact on response times to House 3’s area,” he said. “The best-case scenario would be to avoid closure for any timeframe. With the scope of work to be performed, it just isn’t possible to avoid this. In cooperation with Jefferson County 911 Dispatch and our neighboring agencies, we will make adjustments to minimize the impact. Our crews will maintain a heightened level of awareness to call locations to ensure the closest equipment responds.”
House 3 covers the area from Hwy. 141 to Hwy. 21; Hwy. 21 to East Rock Creek Road; East Rock Creek Road to Gary Road; Old Lemay Ferry Road to Vogel Road and Old Missouri State Road to Lonedell Road, Wingbermuehle said.
Rock Fire covers Arnold, Kimmswick and parts of Imperial and Barnhart. It has five houses, including two in Arnold, two in the Arnold area and one in Imperial.