More issues detected at Longwood fire station housing foul odor

LONGWOOD, Fla. - Firefighter and EMT Josh Baker works at Station 16 in Wekiva, meaning he also lives there while he’s on shift.

He says off and on for years now, the station has been overrun with foul odors, sometimes getting so bad, he says he can’t focus or rest when it’s present.

"I signed up for the job. I signed up for the hazards of the job," Baker said. "But that's running into the buildings, putting myself in that kind of danger. I didn't sign up just to go to work to be exposed to potentially sewer gas."

When we first reported on this, the County said there was a problem with the lift station and they’d ordered a part to fix it. Since that report aired, they found another issue.

The problem gets fixed, and then it comes back again – back and forth on a loop that he’s grown very tired of.

The Seminole County Fire Department says a plumbing company went out and did extensive testing, and they now know there’s an issue with the plumbing ventilation and anti-siphon pipes.

"It kind of it hurts that you have to get somebody else involved to bring attention to it," said Baker. "But sometimes I feel like if more people know what's going on and where their money is being spent, that more people will start to speak up and be a little proactive about it."

The Fire Department told its staff in an email, they’re working on it, but, "It is not a quick and easy solution."

"These stations are old. Totally. We understand that they weren't just built yesterday, but we need to do something," Baker said.

"We need to house our first responders a little bit better so that we can do our job as effectively as possible."

The Department also says the Special Hazards and Operations Team tested for hazards in the atmosphere, and didn’t find any. 

They’re still metering periodically just in case.

They brought out a trailer for firefighters to use the bathroom while work was being done.