City administration speaks out about IOSHA Inspection results

Monday afternoon the City of Plymouth is providing the following update following a limited-scope inspection of the Plymouth Fire Station conducted by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) in June of this year. As part of the inspection, an IOSHA representative toured the fire station and met privately with several members of the department.

The Plymouth Fire Department takes safety seriously and worked closely with the inspector throughout the visit. Two items were identified: annual fit-testing for self-contained breathing apparatus was overdue, and the building did not have a formal asbestos survey on file. Both were addressed on the spot while the inspector was still on site. Under the State’s Public Sector Inspection and Enforcement Policy, no penalty is owed once a cited violation has been corrected, so no fine resulted from either finding.

IOSHA also conducted air monitoring for carbon monoxide during the inspection. Readings for the three firefighters tested came back at 0 parts per million, well below both the OSHA and NIOSH exposure limits. No other safety orders were issued.

“Nothing matters more to me than the safety of the men and women who serve this community every day,” said Mayor Robert Listenberger. “I appreciate IOSHA’s partnership throughout this process, and we will continue to invest the time and resources our first responders deserve.”

The structural concerns with the Plymouth Fire Station are not new. The original portion of the building is well over 100 years old, and maintenance has always been a challenge. This is why, early in his term, Mayor Listenberger began meeting with Fire Department and Police Department leaders to determine the needs of each department and how to address them.

The City of Plymouth has been working with architects and planners at American Structurepoint for over a year now to conduct needs assessments and facility studies and to begin planning the best course of action. The process can be frustratingly slow, but Mayor Listenberger believes it is better to take a little more time to get it right. His goal is to take action that will meet the needs of the City’s first responders now and for the next generation.