One phase of the coordinated effort to identify what, if any, toxins are causing employees working at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Operations Center to fall ill is complete.
The county evacuated the last of the 68 deputies and civilian employees out of the agency headquarters in Bunnell on Friday afternoon. Most of the displaced Sheriff’s Office workers were transferred to the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center and the remaining employees transferred into the administrative building on the Flagler County jail campus. That building served as the Sheriff’s Office’s operations center for 25 years until the agency moved into the new main station in September 2015.
While officers were moving out, environmental specialists moved in Thursday and Friday to begin testing.
Engineering Systems Inc., the Fort Myers company headed by environmental scientist Dr. Zdenek Hejzlar that Flagler County hired, began conducting comprehensive tests throughout the building. Meanwhile, a team of radon specialists from a special division of the Department of Health out of Tallahassee took on-site radiology samples, and County Administrator Craig Coffey said they found no evidence of radon present on the property.
“We’re glad we were able to relocate the Sheriff’s Office so quickly and we’re looking forward to the test results, and seeing if we can figure something out,” Coffey said.
At least 27 employees stationed at the Operations Center have filed worker’s compensation claims amid concerns that the building is making them sick. Two remain out on Family Medical Leave Act, according to officials.
The issue came to light after four special investigators who shared the same office on the east side of the building developed similar symptoms in November. The county moved in to have an air quality study done and did remediations to portions of the building where trace amounts of mold were discovered. But the fears persisted after detectives moved back into the center and their symptoms returned.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly moved out of the building with his executive staff Friday. He said the building will remain essentially vacated “for however long it takes to certify that that is a safe building for my employees."
“I can’t tell you that nobody will ever go in there, we still have gear and evidence and things like that,” he said. “There may be the occasional employee who has to go in there to get something, but they won’t be assigned there, working there and breathing that air in that building for their entire shift.”
Hejzlar’s team dug beneath a concrete slab to conduct soil samples that will be sent to an independent lab for analysis. Staly said he expects the lab tests to be completed within 10-14 days, but Coffey said it will likely take months before Hejzlar and his specialists analyze the results and complete a full report on their findings. He cautioned that Hejzlar’s analysis could also lead to further testing.
“The idea is that Dr. Hejzlar, if we discover something else, will be doing some follow-up investigation,” Coffey said. “It can change. If he tells us to explore something else, we’ll explore something else.”
Light-duty deputies and members of the Coastal Florida Police Benevolent Association, the workers’ union that represents most of the Sheriff’s Office employees, accompanied the specialists and asked them questions while they conducted testing.
“This week, as well as the last couple, have been progressing nicely for the employees,” said Michael Scudiero, the union’s executive director. “We know the hard decisions and work ahead is still significant, but the help from the sheriff has been appreciated and well-taken.”
While work has progressed this week, Sheriff’s Office officials also announced that Florida Sheriff’s Risk Management Group, the agency’s insurance carrier, has re-opened all worker’s comp claims tied to allegations the building is causing employees’ symptoms.
Signs at the front entrance to the operations center on Friday morning proclaimed that the departments many residents visit the headquarters had moved.
The agency announced exactly where each of the departments have moved in a media release Friday afternoon. The Sheriff’s Investigative Services Division, Records Unit, Seniors versus Crime Unit, and Community Policing Command Staff have relocated to the first floor of the Flagler courthouse, 1769 E. Moody Blvd. in Bunnell. Governmental Affairs and Volunteers Manager, Human Resources, Business Services, Accreditation, Public Affairs and General Counsel are housed on the second floor. Staly and his undersheriff Jack Bisland’s offices are now on the third floor with Victims’ Advocates.
A Sheriff’s Office public safety officer will staff the front desk at the courthouse.
Crime scene investigators and the training, purchasing and evidence units moved to the Jail Administration Building, 1002 Justice Lane.
“We’re up and performing, we’re serving the community regardless of the disruption in the day-to-day operations,” Staly said. “So hopefully the community will see no reduction in the level of service. It just may awkward to find some of the people they may need to talk to.”