Woburn Firefighters Say Decaying Fire Station Is Detrimental

WOBURN, MA -- Dead rats in ceiling tiles, water leaking through door and window jams and a dispatch center that does not meet Department of Homeland Security standards are just a few of the problems Woburn Firefighters say they deal with on a near-daily basis at the Central Square Fire Station. Located at 654 Main Street and commonly called Station 3, the building was constructed in 1906 but, since an addition in 1975, has fallen into an ever-increasing state of decay.

We "feel that the health and welfare of our members is being compromised on a daily basis especially seeing as this building is occupied 24 hours a day 365 days a year," Brian J. McLaughlin, president of the union that represents firefighters in Woburn, said in a statement. "The city has made multiple promises over the past 5 years and has yet to follow through on any of them."

Most recently, rain and melting snow on Thursday caused appliances to short out, food to be contaminated and damage to the floor and EMS supplies. Officials ultimately had to move the department's two ambulances from the station "out of health concerns," McLaughlin said

In 2011, a consultant hired to perform a public safety study recommended that Station 3 be "closed immediately." In 2016, Mayor Scott Galvin said he would make replacing the station his "top priority." While the study is conducting "another study," McLaughlin said that could take years and the union is demanding the city address the rodent and mold problem at Station 3 and other stations in Woburn immediately.

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Top photo by Local 971. A structural crack on the exterior of Station 3 in Woburn is one of many problems the city has failed to address, according to the union's president.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).