N’burgh set to award contract for asbestos cleanup of firehouse

Jan. 11--CITY OF NEWBURGH -- The Newburgh City Council plans to award a contract for asbestos cleanup at the West End Firehouse on Monday.

ACA Environmental Services out of Yonkers has offered to clean up the firehouse at 492 Broadway for $30,785.

The asbestos remediation will take about three days once the company gets all its paperwork in order, City Engineer Jason Morris said at the city council's work session on Thursday. The paperwork should take about a month to process.

"I'm like, jumping for joy," said Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey.

But firefighters will not be able to move back in immediately.

"This was the biggest obstruction to reoccupying the firehouse," Morris told the council. "There are some other outstanding issues relating to other environmental concerns that were identified in the building by various different consultants."

Acting Fire Chief Terry Ahlers said there is mold in the walls of one of the bathrooms caused by a years-long roof leak. Fuel and oils from the fire trucks has also seeped into the firehouse's living quarters, which includes a kitchen and dormitory area.

Ahlers was unsure of a timetable for completing the additional cleanup, but hopes it happens soon.

Firefighters and an engine were moved out of the firehouse in September. All firefighters are currently working out of the department's headquarters on Grand Street, which is located on the city's east end.

Ahlers has recently expressed concern about response time to fires on the west end.

It would typically take firefighters at the Upper Broadway station about three minutes to respond to a fire on the west end. From Grand Street, the response time is about 10 minutes.

"We want to get back in there," Ahlers said. "I would be a lot more at ease knowing we got the west end protected the way it should be."

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