COWETA, Okla. — Coweta firefighters are forced to move operations to a hotel after mold was found in the firehouse.
The Best Western Plus hotel is just over a mile north from the downtown Coweta fire station. It won't affect response time much, and firefighters have all the equipment they need right there.
Coweta resident Richard Menken was surprised to hear about what happened.
"It does not sound good, "Menken said. "Apparently they should have gotten it taken care of.”
Coweta’s fire station was built in 1985, and mold has been an on-going problem. It gets tested frequently, but city officials say the results of the last test wasn’t normal.
2 News asked Interim Fire Chief Brian Woodward what kind of mold was found this time.
“I have not read the report in its entirety to look into the exact type," Woodward said. I just went by the professional that said we need to get out.”
Firefighters will spend evenings and overnights there, and days in the fire bays on a separate HVAC system from the fire station's living corridors.
Outside testing is slated to come again next week.
Richard Kolman, Coweta City manager says the city will pay for the hotel services, costing roughly $300 per night.
“It’s around $70 a night for each room," Kolman said. "We have four rooms. In the grand scheme for our firefighters safety, it’s not an expense we’re willing to bare.”
Last year, Coweta passed a once cent sales tax, and part of it was funding for a new fire station on the north side of town, off OK-51. City officials knew the current one was not adequate to meet the city's growth. They’re in talk with an architect to get the new fire station designed.
"This isn’t the first facility in Coweta that has had a black mold problem," Kolman said.
Kolman says that new fire station will serve as the primary fire station until they build a second location in the future. He says that fire station probably wont be ready for move-in until late 2024 or early 2025.
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