The city of Orlando is looking to change the way it does live fire training after firefighters said their health was put in danger from being exposed to asbestos.
A dozen firefighters were exposed to the hazardous substance inside an abandoned apartment complex, but Channel 9 learned more may have been put in harm’s way.More than 400 firefighters have been doing training inside the buildings over the last few months, so they may have had some exposure.
About a dozen were put in close contact with floor tiles that contained asbestos.
“We stopped training at the site, and from stopping training, we also will launch an investigation internally in the city to look at best practices,” said Orlando Fire Chief Roderick Williams.
On Monday, the department’s management sat down with Orlando’s mayor and the firefighters union to discuss the abandoned apartment complex and the hazardous work firefighters were doing unknowingly.
To prepare for live fire training, floor tiled with cancer-causing asbestos were being removed without proper equipment.