PLYMOUTH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Just weeks after it was temporarily closed due to structural concerns, a Plymouth fire station was ordered permanently closed after asbestos was discovered there last night.
Plymouth North Fire Station on Spooner Street was evacuated two weeks ago after the floor started to collapse. This followed structural issues that closed the department's Sandwich Street headquarters.
Structural Issues Put 2 Plymouth Firehouses Out Of Commission
On Tuesday night, workers found asbestos in a damaged wall at the North Plymouth station. The plaster tested negative for mold and lead.
A replacement for the North Plymouth Fire Station is already underway on Hedge Road, but for now, Plymouth Town Manager Melissa Arrighi said the situation is uncertain.
"That station won't be available until some time in June, unless we can expedite that, which we are looking at," she said. "If we can't, we know there is this length of time, and during that time period, we have to go back to Town Meeting and ask for more funding for other stations."
With the asbestos news, Arrighi now says the town is working to contact anyone who worked at the station in the last ten years for medical examinations.
Plymouth Fire Chief Ed Bradley said they will take chest x-rays, an annual questionnaire, and some more testing.
"And then on an annual basis, they'll go back, see if anything's changed," Chief Bradley said.
Displaced firefighters have been operating out of a fire station in neighboring Kingston.
"Obviously it's been impacting response times, but we minimize that as much as we can," Bradley said.
(Photo: Karyn Regal/WBZ NewsRadio)
WBZ NewsRadio's Madison Rogers (@_madisonrogers) reports
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