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Fire chiefs: Repair County fire facility
By John J. Hopkins
Firefighters across Erie County come to the Fire Training Academy on Broadway to safely practice what they've learned, but Cheektowaga's fire chiefs say that the facility is becoming so badly neglected that it has become a safety hazard.
The concerns were brought up at Tuesday's meeting of the Cheektowaga Fire Chiefs' Mutual Aid Organization, which was also attended by Erie County emergency officials.
U-Crest Fire Chief Brian Koch, who is also president of the chiefs' organization, offered a presentation with dozens of pictures outlining the problems and concerns.
"It's more dangerous to train at the academy than it is to fight the actual fires," Koch declared.
Among the structural concerns: exposed concrete reinforcing bars (rebar), weeds growing in the roofs, cracked walls, large pieces of falling concrete and chipping (spalling) concrete.
In addition, the chiefs say that scheduling problems have led to double bookings, absent instructors and incorrect equipment for lessons.
A major problem with the fire tower is the stand pipe system that runs from the ground to the top floor of the structure. According to the chiefs, the system has suffered "potentially catastrophic failures" and is currently out of service.
The tower's electrical system has not worked properly in years, creating a problem during night training sessions.
"The goal of training is to train safely," Koch said. "You can't train safely without proper illumination."
Erie County emergency officials said they hope that media exposure will force the county's decision makers to take notice.
"We're in 100 percent agreement with you," Erie County Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Services Greg Skibitski told the group. "It's wrong, and it should be righted."
An April 2006 inspection of the facilities by engineers from DiDonato Associates Engineering and Architecture found several deficiencies.
A structural-only estimate from DiDonato, forwarded to the Times, indicates nearly $163,000 is required to correct the current problems.
According to DiDonato's report, there is significant damage to the concrete floors of the tower.
"The most prevalent areas that require repair are located on the underside of the reinforced concrete floor slabs," the report said. "There are numerous areas of concrete that have spalled and other areas that are hollow where the concrete cover is de-bonded from the reinforcement. These areas pose safety issues and raise structural concerns for future training exercises."
DiDonato reported that the second floor beam of the smoke house has spalling and cracking concrete on its main floor beam. This area has subsequently been closed to training exercises.
"On the second floor of the structure is a reinforced concrete roof beam that is experiencing large cracks and spalled areas," the report continued. The second floor has also been closed until repairs can be made.
Noting that firefighters are trained to first "hit the ceiling" with a stream of water when battling a fire, Koch said that the ceiling spalling will get worse.
The live-burn building- one of the newest facilities at the center- is closed because floor joists and metal decking have deteriorated.
"It's no big secret, there was a training problem over there," Koch said of the live-burn building. "Whatever happened that day happened. Our safe live-burn building isn't safe anymore."
A "drafting" pit, from which engines withdraw water during training exercises, is murky.
"The guys from U-Crest say there's something swimming in it," Koch said. "We're supposed to take our three-quarters of a million (dollar) trucks and draft out of there. Who pays for the damage when the truck sucks that up?"
Skibitski said that a similar study performed by Urban Engineers three years ago echo DiDonato's findings.
According to Skibitski, his department has asked for millions of dollars to fund improvements at the center for three consecutive years.
Skibitski believes that County Executive Joel Giambra will recommend to the county legislature $5 million for improvements, including $2 million for the first year.
"We're in a position, and you're helping us, to finally see this come to fruition," Skibitski said. "Five million dollars would do a lot for that academy."
Built in the 1970s on land donated to Erie County by Cheektowaga, the training center includes an 85-foot tall seven-story training tower and a 35-foot tall smoke house. A liveburn building was constructed in the 1990s and stands nearly 19 feet tall.
The facilities include an administrative/ classroom building with an indoor training tower.
The fire chiefs also expressed their disappointment with high weeds and other maintenance issues at the facilities. However, maintenance has improved recently.
Skibitski said that current maintenance is the result of efforts by Fire Safety Deputy Commissioner James McCullough, who arranged for a prisoner work detail to help at the facility.
The Town Board threw its support behind the fire chiefs, passing a resolution Monday requesting Erie County "in the name of public safety" to provide money to renovate or replace the facilities and annually budget for their maintenance.
"It's unconscionable that the county through the years has not done the things that are necessary to maintain that facility," said Supervisor Dennis H. Gabryszak.
Councilmember Thomas M. Johnson said that the facility's condition is an example of Erie County's "failure to sustain a service that it fully assumes."
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