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Mold problems surface at ambulance station
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Problems with mold and a deteriorating roof has led the county’s Safety Committee to consider a major overhaul of Ambulance Station 1, including moving earth and possibly putting in sidewalks around the structure to prevent water from seeping under the building and causing moisture issues.The committee met at the facility, located at 103 Magness Drive near River Park Hospital, at 6:30 p.m. Monday to discuss the issues and were providentially met with a cloudburst which provided the perfect opportunity to see how rainy conditions were affecting the building.The Safety Committee includes Teddy Boyd, chairman, Sally Brock, Ron Lee, Charles Morgan and Les Trotman.Lee, who owns and operates Lee Excavating and is therefore well-versed in these types of issues, said there are several problems at the site, one of which is the thick grass which comes up to the base of the building.“A lot of times grass, after it establishes itself, gets so thick when it grows up that it keeps the water from going out,” Lee said. “This would affect any mold problem we would have in the building. When the water goes back up under the building and is not drained out properly.”Lee said this condition is relatively easy to correct.“It’s just a matter of doing a little dirt work to see if we can get it going out the right way,” Lee said.In addition to the grass, Lee says the lot the station is built on is very flat, providing little slope to direct the water away from the building.However, Lee says once he talked to Ambulance Service director Brian Jennings, he found there were some issues with doing the dirt work.“When Brian told me about the underground wiring, telephone wires, that sort of raises a red flag for a digger,” Lee said.