Late in the evening of Thursday, June 15, the septic line underneath the Lebanon Fire Department ruptured, sending raw sewage and water through most of the living quarters of the firehouse on Upper Cross Road.One firefighter was in the bathroom and another was taking a shower when the rupture occurred.”The water started coming back up, and it wasn’t like soapy water. There was some strange coloration to it, which was concerning,” said Alex Morris, a 21-year-old firefighter who had just returned from a call that night.The raw sewage water was even coming up through the cracks in the floor.”Trying to just take a shower and then having your feet covered in septic water – really unpleasant – definitely not a good way to end the shift, so I was pretty disgusted when it finally clicked in,” Morris said.A week and a half later, Fire Chief Kurt Flynn toured the area where ServPro workers are still cleaning up the mess. Estimates to clean and repair the septic pipe could top $100,000, officials said. Chief Flynn said the rupture came just two days after the town voted down any prospects of funding a new fire department. The chief said some in town have even accused him and his staff of sabotaging the septic system because of the no vote.”That’s absolutely ridiculous. We would never, ever do that, ever. We’re here to protect the town,” Flynn said. It’s a town that voted to get rid of its police department – and the fire chief wonders if the fire department is next. Mike Walsworth is the vice chair of the Lebanon Select Board. He said Lebanon is a community where taxpayers hold a hard line when it comes to spending. “You start talking about money and how that affects your wallet, and people react differently at that point,” Walsworth said. For now, firefighters have moved outside of the building. A storage trailer, a couple of port-a-potties and a hand-washing station have been brought in for firefighters to use. A portable shower will come in the next day or so, officials said. The town will decide whether to spend the money to make repairs to the septic line in a meeting set for July 11.
LEBANON, Maine —
Late in the evening of Thursday, June 15, the septic line underneath the Lebanon Fire Department ruptured, sending raw sewage and water through most of the living quarters of the firehouse on Upper Cross Road.
One firefighter was in the bathroom and another was taking a shower when the rupture occurred.
“The water started coming back up, and it wasn’t like soapy water. There was some strange coloration to it, which was concerning,” said Alex Morris, a 21-year-old firefighter who had just returned from a call that night.
The raw sewage water was even coming up through the cracks in the floor.
“Trying to just take a shower and then having your feet covered in septic water – really unpleasant – definitely not a good way to end the shift, so I was pretty disgusted when it finally clicked in,” Morris said.
A week and a half later, Fire Chief Kurt Flynn toured the area where ServPro workers are still cleaning up the mess. Estimates to clean and repair the septic pipe could top $100,000, officials said.
Chief Flynn said the rupture came just two days after the town voted down any prospects of funding a new fire department. The chief said some in town have even accused him and his staff of sabotaging the septic system because of the no vote.
“That’s absolutely ridiculous. We would never, ever do that, ever. We’re here to protect the town,” Flynn said.
It’s a town that voted to get rid of its police department – and the fire chief wonders if the fire department is next.
Mike Walsworth is the vice chair of the Lebanon Select Board. He said Lebanon is a community where taxpayers hold a hard line when it comes to spending.
“You start talking about money and how that affects your wallet, and people react differently at that point,” Walsworth said.
For now, firefighters have moved outside of the building. A storage trailer, a couple of port-a-potties and a hand-washing station have been brought in for firefighters to use. A portable shower will come in the next day or so, officials said.
The town will decide whether to spend the money to make repairs to the septic line in a meeting set for July 11.
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