Update 3/25/14: South Coast Today reported that the Dartmouth Police Headquarters station that shut down earlier this month due to Legionella will remain closed for at least another two months. This means that the station may not be open until May at the earliest. Police Chief Timothy M. Lee is erring on the side of caution and waiting for all test results to come back clean before re-opening the Dartmouth Police Headquarters; his main concern is to keep all 82 employees, which includes 67 police officers, safe.
During this disinfection process, the police are working out of rented trailers and a mobile command center in the station's parking lot. So far, the building's plumbing system has been flushed with 160˚F water to kill any Legionella bacteria. Test results are expected to return this week, but the additional wait time is to ensure that the bacteria do not return.
A Dartmouth police officer became ill and was diagnosed Legionnaires’ disease earlier this March.
As a result, testing was done on the Dartmouth Police Headquarters, and the police station was subsequently shut down temporarily due to the finding of Legionella (bacteria causing Legionnaires’ disease) in the facility’s water system.
Currently, there is no date set for the reopening of the police headquarters, but steps are being taken to eradicate the bacteria.
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