Medford firefighters say they are fed up with mice and mold in station

By Daisy Levine

Medford firefighters are fed up with their station.

Citing rodents, bugs, and mold in the Main Street headquarters — where they eat, sleep, and live almost as much as their own homes — they’re asking for help from city officials, a year after voters shot down a $30 million proposal to build a new station.

In late August, the Medford firefighters’ union, Local 1032 took to Facebook with their complaints. They posted photos and videos taken inside the Fire Department headquarters, along with a letter to the health director describing the problems and asking the city for help to “mitigate the filth.”

Firefighters have been complaining about the station for years, but they lobbied against November’s ballot question, saying the plans were inadequate.

City officials would not speak with Gotta Know Medford about the firehouse and referred a reporter to a communications director, who emailed a statement saying the issues have been largely resolved.

Gotta Know Medford attempted to speak with firefighters about the conditions, but none would talk on the record. One firefighter did speak at length with a reporter but later asked to have his name withheld for fear of retaliation.

“We just want a fire station that doesn’t have mice and rats crawling around,” he said. “I don’t think that’s that much to ask.”

He said city officials have ignored the firehouse conditions since firefighters lobbied against last year’s ballot question. The firefighter stopped speaking with Gotta Know Medford in early October, though, saying city officials were starting to pay attention to the problems and he didn’t want to jeopardize that progress.

In a written timeline shared with Gotta Know Medford, the firefighter cited two incidents in late July and early August. One involved a firefighter finding a mouse eating through the tinfoil on his food container. A week later, another found droppings beside the coffee pot in the morning.

The firefighters’ union then posted on its Facebook page photos and videos of mice crawling out of food pantries, bite marks torn through insulation, and corners of the station covered in droppings.

“We want a mayor that works with us collaboratively and stands up for civil service employees and protects her employees from an infestation of mice,” one firefighter wrote on Facebook, “which our current living conditions entail.”

The union also shared a letter from Local 1032 President Danielle Marcellino to Medford Health Department Director MaryAnn O’Connor.

“We have been trying to work with the Chief and the City Administration to mitigate numerous issues, specifically: rodents, insects/mites, and feces that are found in every corner, cabinet, and under every piece of furniture or appliance,” Marcellino wrote in her letter, dated Aug. 25. “The Union officials have been more than patient with our chain of command, but at this point the lack of action is far beyond acceptable.”

Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn and Fire Chief Todd Evans both refused to speak with Gotta Know Medford and referred a reporter to communications director Steve Smirti. Smirti would not speak with a reporter but provided a written statement.

Once city officials received the union’s letter, they contacted pest control, sealed access points, and conducted a deep clean of the kitchen, Smirti wrote.

“To give some context, there were no rats on the premises, it was mice. And mice are attracted to food waste that is not properly disposed of,” Smirti wrote in an email. “We learned that personnel were leaving food unattended and that’s going to attract mice and insects, just like if you or I didn’t clean up after ourselves at home.”

He said the station hasn’t had a mouse problem since, “probably due to the staff doing a better job disposing of food and cleaning up after meals.”

But the firefighter who spoke with Gotta Know Medford said mice were still in the station as of late September. Terminix was coming weekly, advising firefighters not to use the oven or the stove, forcing firefighters to spend excess money on takeout. Pest control experts raised health concerns over discolored droppings that may suggest the mice have ingested poison, “a hazard to our health,” the firefighter said.

Asked why firefighters lobbied against the $30 million ballot initiative that would have funded a new fire station, the firefighter said fire personnel were not consulted after one initial meeting. The mayor did set up a committee, he said, but that committee never met.

City Council President Isaac “Zac” Bears said Medford clearly needs a fire station.

“It’s been clear for a long time that we need a new fire headquarters,” Bears said. “Our firefighters deserve a much better facility than what we have now.”

He said that although he was disappointed that the ballot question was shot down — and the current facility is “disgusting” — he was even more frustrated by the reason behind it.

“I understand that they are not happy with each other, and haven’t been for a long time,” he said. “[But] I really would like to see leadership from the mayor to come together with the fire union and to let us know what the plan is. Just because that question didn’t pass, doesn’t mean we don’t need to get this done.”

Lungo-Koehn has not communicated any plans regarding the firehouse to anyone on the City Council, Bears said.

Daisy Levine is a journalism student at Boston University. This story is part of a partnership between Gotta Know Medford and the Boston University Department of Journalism.