Bloomington Fire Department Chief Jason Moore wants community members to know the fire department, despite flooding at the headquarters on 4th Street, is fully staffed and ready to help. Moore said the fire department is fully capable of responding to emergencies.
Moore said residents who have experienced flooding over the weekend may have issues as electrical devices are turned back on including electrical smells, and items not functioning correctly. If they have safety concerns they shouldn’t hesitate to call the fire department for help.
The basement of the HQ on 4th Street was filled with about 7-feet of water during Friday night’s flash flood, and communications equipment and computer servers were destroyed, but the dept has data and system backups, according to Moore.
Moore said he’s grateful the Graduate Hotel has assisted the fire department by providing hot showers for firefighters on duty, and a cooler place than the fire station for firefighters on shift to get some relief from the summer heat. The station is running on generator power so cooling the building is difficult. Cleanup crews were working the basement of the fire station to clean up the mess left behind by the flood, and damage to the building’s electrical system is being assessed.
A water line could be seen on the wall of the basement as Moore showed The Bloomingtonian the basement area, which was filled with water Friday night. Mud covered the floor as weights and workout equipment were still covered with a layer of silt.
The garage, which was filled with fire engines again, was dry Monday afternoon but had been covered with several inches of water Friday night.
