FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Station to Get System to Remove Fumes

Officials plan to clear the air at the city’s fire station headquarters.

Concerned about diesel exhaust fumes, which are a health hazard, the City Council last week unanimously approved the purchase and installation of a diesel exhaust removal system at a cost of about $14,000.

Fire Chief Bernard F. Heimos said the diesel engine emissions include substances, including benzene, that can cause cancer.

These byproducts of diesel exhaust can be harmful to firefighters since fumes can spread to eating, sleeping, physical fitness rooms and offices within the fire station, Heimos said.

Last week’s vote to purchase equipment demonstrated that the council “put firefighters’ safety as a high priority,” Heimos said.

Mayor John Collins said the council’s decision is a sign of the times.

“We’ve become sensitive to those items in our atmosphere that can cause (health) problems,” Collins said. “The council wants to take every measure to make sure our firefighters are not subjected to this type of carcinogen.”

Heimos said that every time a firetruck engine is started to respond to an emergency call, firefighters stand nearby to put on their safety gear and are exposed to high levels of diesel exhaust.

“We want to provide an atmosphere that is free of certain levels of diesel exhaust,” he said.

The existing system of vent panels and exhaust fan are inadequate to get fumes out of the station, at 17737 Bushard St., Heimos said.

New equipment uses a vacuum hose with an inflatable cuff that attaches to the diesel exhaust pipe and draws out emissions, releasing them outside.

Heimos said the city’s other fire station, Station No. 2 on 16767 Newhope St., already has an adequate air-exchange system within the building.