Compton Fire Station 1 closes temporarily due to health concerns

COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Water damage and the potential for mold forced the closure of Compton Fire Station 1's living quarters.

The problems could have stemmed from recent storms.

"I showed up to the station and I notice that there was water leaking from the station in the bathroom. At that point I kind of looked at it, inspected it and noticed that the ceiling started kind of falling down," said Antonio Chavez, union vice president of Compton Firefighters Local 2216.

A portion of the building was closed on March 31.

Administration staff who work in a separate part of Fire Station 1 are able to still work there but about 15 firefighters were moved to Fire Station 3's living quarters.

Union reps say they are concerned about longer response times because firefighters were moved, but they are working as fast as possible.

Compton Council member Jonathan Bowers does not represent the district that Fire Station 1 is in, but says he was with the Compton Fire Department in the past. In a statement he says,

As a Councilmember of this city I am appalled with the conditions at our fire stations. This situation is unacceptable for our fire personnel and the citizens of Compton. This is an unfortunate matter and I stand behind our firefighters and will support them 100% to rectify this problem and to improve our service to the public and personnel.

The Compton city manager tells Eyewitness News that as soon as they were notified about Fire Station 1, they stepped in to ensure repairs were being made.

Union members say they are giving credit where it's due and that the issue is being handled.

"Actually, our fire chief called us this morning to give us a tentative plan and the status of the repairs and I was able to see firsthand that we do have a company out here starting the repair process and mitigation issues," said Daniel Salazar, union president of Compton Firefighters Local 2216.

Union reps say it'll take at least 30 days before firefighters are able to go back to Fire Station 1.

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