By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer
September 14, 2006
The state workplace safety department is testing the air quality
at the Police/Fire Administration Building and ordered
improvements to emergency exits after an anonymous complaint
about crowding and work conditions led to an inspection Tuesday.
The entire police department crammed into the building in July
because its headquarters, which is just behind the Police/Fire
Administration Building, will soon be torn down to make way for
the new public safety complex. The fire department administration
has moved to temporary offices at 75 Holly Hill Lane, but the
central fire station firefighters, trucks and equipment are still
there.
Police Chief James Walters said an inspector from the State
Department of Labor's Division of Occupational Safety and Health
left air-testing devices in the building, and told the town to
mark emergency exits better and make the emergency releases on
the locking mechanisms of emergency doors safer.
The officer gave no indication whether there would be citations
or fines, Walters said.
The town's building maintenance workers are fixing the problems
with the exits, Walters said. "The health and welfare of our
employees is paramount, and we'll address any problem OSHA feels
is necessary," he said.
Labor department spokesman Paul Oates confirmed that the
CONN-OSHA inspector toured the building, but declined further
comment on the visit.
The emergency doors have "crash bar" handles, which
open security doors when pressed, and the inspector said they
need to be backed up with secondary devices that would bypass the
crash bar if it fails to release the door, Walters said.
As part of the new public safety complex, the Police/Fire
Administration building will be renovated, but not until a new
police station is built, which won't be for a couple years. The
police have used all the available space in the old building,
including using old jail cells as offices.
Sgt. James Bonney, president of the Silver Shield Association
police union, said that the anonymous complaint about the
conditions was made by a police officer, not a firefighter.
Police and firefighters have recently raised their concerns about
their work conditions, crowding and air quality with the town's
building maintenance department.
First Selectman Jim Lash said that any problems identified could
be fixed.
"Anything OSHA believes needs to be corrected will be fixed
as soon as possible," Lash said. "We want our employees
working in a safe environment."
Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.