Scranton temporarily shuts East Mtn. fire station because of mold

Scranton temporarily closed its East Mountain fire station Thursday morning due to a mold problem, officials said.

Councilman Joe Wechsler, a resident of East Mountain, announced the closure during a city council meeting.

An air quality specialist will inspect the firehouse today and, Until they get some kind of corrective action, the firehouse is closed, Mr. Wechsler said during a caucus before the regular meeting. East Mountains Engine 10 now is operating out of Fire Department headquarters downtown, he said.

Reached by phone after the council meeting, Fire Chief Patrick DeSarno said a few firefighters complained Thursday morning about physical symptoms from the mold, but he declined to give specifics. He said the East Mountain station has suffered from years of neglect ... (and) ongoing problems from a leaky roof. We have a possible mold problem. We took the precaution of getting our guys out of there.

Officials dont know how long the station may be closed, but once the air-quality test results are received, they will decide how to proceed. We cant really plan until we know what the problem is, Chief DeSarno said. Mr. Wechsler added that a remediation hopefully could be a simple fix.

The closure is a concern because of the remoteness of parts of East Mountain. In spring 2012, the Fire Department had a slow response to a fire at a house in East Mountain, where the fire station at that time had been closed. Immediately after that blaze, former Mayor Chris Doherty reopened the East Mountain firehouse.

We all know the concerns we have when Engine 10 is not open, Mr. Wechsler said.

In another matter, council took the first step toward creating a special account for receipt of parking-violation revenue from the citys new civilian enforcement program. Council voted 5-0, with Mr. Wechsler, council President Bob McGoff and members Pat Rogan, Wayne Evans and Bill Gaughan all in favor, to introduce an ordinance creating the account.

The enforcement stems from a new police contract approved in January that allowed two civilian clerks working in the Police Department to enforce nonmeter parking violations throughout the city, such as the following: parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, 25 feet of an intersection, and 30 feet of a stop sign; parking facing the opposite direction of traffic; parking without a permit in a permit area, in a space reserved for disabled residents without approval, or too close to a fire hydrant.

Mr. McGoff said several complaints have been received from elderly residents who have been ticketed for parking against traffic. These residents have said they park this way for better access getting into and out of vehicles along a sidewalk instead of onto streets and roads.

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Scranton temporarily shuts East Mtn. fire station because of mold