On Wednesday, October 8, 2014, just after 7:00 a.m. roll call, Fire Station 21 was closed temporarily for maintenance of the apparatus bay floor. The need for the closure is to seal the concrete apparatus floor after water was discovered leaking into the basement from cracks in the floor.
Chief Building Inspector Rob Cendol and Dave Golis, P.E., inspected the apparatus floor and found no structural concerns. Among several recommendations was the application of a sealant to prevent water from passing through the floor to the structural beams below.
Bids were put out to seal the floor with an epoxy membrane with the contract being awarded to Tri-State Flooring.
Engine 21 will be moved to Fire Station 9 on South Avenue, with an extra firefighter detailed to Fire Station 11 on Airport Highway. Medic 21 will be out of service during the shutdown and stored at Fire Station 14.
Barring any unforeseen issues, it is anticipated that Fire Station 21 will return to service on Monday, October 13, 2014.
Fire Station 21 opened on November 19, 1931 and serves an area of 8.4 square miles in south Toledo.
Thanks to the close proximity of Engine 21 responding from Fire Station 9 to the northeast, and with the coverage provided by Fire Station 11 to the northwest of 21’s district, we should not experience any significant increase in response times in the district. One other component that will help not only this instance, but throughout the city is our CAD (computer aided dispatch). The CAD system currently in use will dispatch the closest unit based on actual location of the apparatus rather than the previous CAD system which dispatched incidents based on Fire Station locations.