Lindenhurst OKs firefighter training tower repairs

Lindenhurst Village has approved emergency repairs to a firefighter training tower that was damaged by a village contractor.

The Volunteer Fire Department Training Tower, in Fireman’s Memorial Park, is used by the village’s fire department for training exercises. The tower was damaged in late February when a dump truck operator for All Island Plumbing, Inc., of Holbrook failed to lower the bed of the vehicle, village officials said. The company is under contract with the village for Sandy-related debris removal and snow removal, said Deputy Clerk Doug Madlon, and has done a “phenomenal job.”

An engineering inspection by KD Engineering of Glen Cove revealed that the tower cannot be safely used and “must undergo substantial repair immediately.”

Last week village board members voted to suspend the usual procedure of competitive bidding and instead enter into an “emergency repair work” contract with GA Chivvis Corp. of Copiague.

The contract is for $92,310 and will be paid for through All Island’s insurance company, Madlon said. He said the work must be done by May 15, when the fire department begins a series of training exercises.