2 Investigators: Fire Training Tower Riddled With Problems
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new training tower for firefighters, paid for with $1 million in taxpayer money, is riddled with problems, CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman found.
And it could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair and finish.
Firefighters use these towers, with controlled flames, to prepare to battle fires in real-world scenarios. The towers must be built to withstand repeated firefighting simulations.
But, a report commissioned by The Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy shows the tower built on the South Side is riddled with problems.
NIPSTA refused to go on camera about the findings so CBS 2 asked Allan Gold, a structural engineer, to interpret the report for us.
The report shows photographs of a splitting steel column that Gold says needs to be replaced or repaired with steel plates.
It also reports that there are "six bulging ground level columns."
"That's what happens when water gets in. It froze and burst the columns. So yes it's absolutely bad," said Gold.
NIPSTA got $1.2 million in Homeland Security grants and chose Tactical Structures to build the tower.
Tactical Structures was paid more than $1 million before its contract was terminated because of "significant design and construction defects," according to a claim notice sent to Tactical Structures by NIPSTA attorneys.
Project inspectors discovered that the builder was not putting up steel wall panels as called for in the contract.
Instead the wall panels were plastic and wood.
"The wood the plastic would not withstand the abuse that we would put it through," said Don Hroma, the Chicago Fire Department's training chief. He said that would have been a huge mistake.
"That's why they were stopped," he said.
The wall panels were replaced with steel ones.
The report also cites foundation problems including cracks.
Walls, and a cement slab the structure is on, is not sloped correctly to drain water away.
And it cites possible hidden trouble inside a concrete wall that appears to be lacking steel reinforcements called rebar.
Without rebar, Gold says, "It could conceivably crack and break up. It could conceivably collapse."
NIPSTA says it will cost an additional $225,729 to fix the problems.
Gold said he did not think the original project was that complicated.
"I would think this is a very simple project," he said. "All the construction defects, errors and omissions should not have happened absolutely not."
Tactical Structures could not be reached for comment.
NIPSTA hopes the tower will be repaired, finished and ready for use this summer.