MELVINDALE (WWJ) - Some Dearborn firefighters should be able to go back into their fire station later Friday after they were forced out due to mold.
Contractors on Friday morning will be removing and replacing drywall affected by mold. Once the repairs are complete, additional tests will be done to make sure the station, on Oakwood Boulevard in Melvindale, is safe.
If all tests come back clear, the firefighters can immediately move back into the building.
Firefighters spent Thursday night inside the Melvindale Recreation Center, after spending the previous night in their rigs parked outside the rec center.
The decision to leave the firefighters, who work 24-hour shifts, outside all night long didn't sit well with Jeff Lentz, president of the Dearborn Firefighters Union,
"When I was told that they were being forced to be housed outside in freezing temperatures for over 16 hours with no other place to relax or try to get some rest and no relief of other crews coming to relieve them I was a little upset. It is a definite safety issue," Lentz told WWJ's Zach Clark.
According to city officials, it is thought that the mold is most likely due to a previously unknown leak from the station's laundry system and is unrelated to a sewage backup that happened Jan. 9.
