The risk of Legionnaires disease in Fire stations

Last month firefighters and paramedics were evacuated from Staines Fire station in Surrey, because it was over-run with Legionella bacteria. It was discovered that the water system was teeming with the legionella bug. The fire station building, which is shared with ambulance 999 crews, is owned by Surrey County Council. Though the land is owned by Thames Water, they do not supply the water.

A spokesman for the Thames water said: “It is our land but the building is on a long lease to Surrey County Council. The actual water supplier for that area is Affinity Water, not Thames, but this would be nothing to do with water quality.”

Portable toilets and showers were taken installed in the building, to protect the crews from contracting the potentially-deadly Legionnaire’s disease, but the risks were deemed too high for them to remain in the building after efforts to eradicate the bug failed after two weeks. There is now talk of replacing all the plumbing to get rid of the bug.

This highlights the benefits of regular testing to check that control measures are working. It is much easier to control the bug than to remove it. The case is all the more poignant due to the importance of the services that were forced to close, where the disruption could have had devastating consequences.