BARRE, Vt. -
After a December fire, Barre, Vermont officials worry about asbestos contamination. The city is taking a pretty thorough approach covering all bases from safety to cleanup to costs and trying to weigh the best options.
December 20th, Barre fire fighters and several other departments battle a fire at the Houle Brothers Granite plant. Unknown at the time the plant is infested with Amosite Asbestos.
"I never seen asbestos like this in a building," said Barre Fire Chief, Timothy Bombardier.
It wasn't until nearly a month later when the chief says he found out, "On January 14th, I heard through word of mouth, that there was asbestos in the building."
But there oftentimes is asbestos found in buildings, so a city councilman asks why this case is requiring such attention?
"I have yet to understand what the difference is between this particular fire?" asked Paul Poirier, Barre Councilman.
"The sign says it all, and what's most shocking is that the board says this building alone has the most asbestos they've seen in 20 years.
"In layman's terms this is above and beyond any amount of asbestos that in my opinion you would expect to see," said Chief Bombardier.
Now the city council and other health specialists worry about the fire fighters equipment, with asbestos fibers possibly still clinging to the gear. One idea is to have the gear tested and certifiably cleaned.
Or, "If you have anything that was contaminated you should have thrown it out," said Chief Bombardier, on advice that was given to him in a previous meeting.
But throwing out and buying all new gear, could run over 200 thousand dollars. The council and fire chief plan to meet again Tuesday to go over specific costs to determine which option to go with, and they plan to discuss legalities and who will ultimately be responsible for the cost.
