Monongahela fire department hit by heavy flooding

By Eric Seiverling

eseiverling@yourmvi.com

The Monongahela Fire Department is used to responding to flood calls at residents’ homes, but Thursday evening the department was dispatched to its own station.

Heavy rains and a collapsed sewer pipe were a damaging combination around 7:30 p.m. as firefighters discovered 3 feet of water had flooded the station.

Fire Chief Aaron Leezer said the station usually sees two or three inches of water after a heavy rainfall.

“This is the worst one yet, though,” Leezer said during a break from pumping out water and cleaning the station. “There might be a few things that are salvageable.”

As of 10:15 p.m., Leezer said firefighters were still using two pumps to remove water from the station.

“We’ll have a little bit of cleanup to do,” he said.

Restoration crews will help with more cleanup and mold mitigation today.

Leezer said the police station’s parking lot saw heavy ponding, but only a few inches of water made it inside.

“They sit a little higher than we do,” he said.

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