Kitchen waste closes Prince George’s County, MD firehouse
The Beltsville fire station is closed after 300 gallons of kitchen waste was discovered underneath the kitchen floor on Friday.
The fire house is located in the 4900 block of Prince George’s County Avenue. The broken sewage pipe that drains kitchen waste was found on Friday night, according to Mark Brady with the Prince George’s County Fire Department.
The fire crews and trucks have been moved to the Calverton Station for the time being. They will stay there until repairs have been made and it is safe to move back. It is not clear at this time how long the repairs will take.
The sewage was found underneath the kitchen floor. Environmental and worker safety agencies have been contacted, Brady added.
All environmental and worker safety agencies have been notified of the situation.
Mark Brady, PGFD Chief Spokesman:
Staffing and apparatus from one Beltsville Fire/EMS Station have been temporarily relocated to their sister station while emergency plumbing and associated repairs are ongoing.
A broken sewage pipe that drains kitchen waste, not human waste, was found Friday night at the Beltsville Fire/EMS Station 831 located at 4911 Prince George’s Avenue. Working with the volunteer leadership a decision was made, with an overabundance of caution for personnel health and safety, to relocate firefighters and apparatus to the nearby Calverton Fire/EMS Station 841. The stations are just over 3 miles apart.
This temporary relocation will continue until repairs are made or it is determined that the interior air quality is safe and healthy.
When the broken sewage pipe was discovered on Friday approximately 300 gallons of trapped kitchen waste was released from behind interior walls into an area underneath the station. This kitchen waste product has since been mostly abated.
In order to make permanent repairs to the cracked iron sewage pipe a section of the stations kitchen floor must be removed. The flooring contains asbestos so additional abatement must occur first before additional repairs can be performed. There is no time estimate available for the completion of repairs or test of the interior air quality.
The relocation is expected to have minimal impact on response times and public safety.
