Westgate Fire Station To Dothan's Premiere Park Has Rat Problems

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
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Date: Sep 13 2019 4:06 PM

DOTHAN:     When my office had rat problems I was not ashamed to ask Dothan Pest Control to put some rat poison out. But the owner of Dothan Pest Control, Tim Wilkerson, said you do not put rat poison out.

When I asked why, a logical answer was given by Tim. Those rats eat the poison, go off somewhere in the building and die, decay, stink and extremely difficult to find.

At the entrance to the premiere showcase Dothan Alabama has, Westgate Park, Dothan Fire Station Number 3. It is very much a eye sore of the old building next door to the entrance of the park Dothan Commissioners just voted to spend $ 585,000.00 for a bowl slide and a triple-flume fixture from Splashtacular. In addition a unanimous vote to spend $ 185,000.00 for a contract with Barge Design Solutions for architectural, engineering and consultation for the project. The City Officials included $ 2.7 million for Water World upgrades in the capital project plans for the next fiscal year.

But at the southern entrance to the ballparks and premiere showcase for Dothan is the Fire Station that has some major issues. It is 3:31 PM and I was at the station earlier. As to fire equipment and fireman it looks like a ghost town. But Dothan General Services is everywhere.

You see months and months ago the fireman who live every 3rd day at Westgate Fire Station complained about rats running through the ceiling. Sounded like a major football team and you could see the ceiling tiles move.

Chief, before you get mad. The person who ratted the fire station out is above your pay grade and totally out of your reach for you to get mad at. So do not get mad at anyone in the department. They did not rat out the station problems to me. 

Anyway Dothan General Services or someone within the city government decided, we will just put rat poison out. And they did.

The clock ticked. Fireman were smelling odors. Those odors got worse. They got worse. They got worse.

What do you think happened? Remember the words of wisdom I mentioned from Dothan Pest Control's Tim Wilkinson? The rats would eat the poison then run off and die. Then would decay and the smell would grow worse every day. That is exactly what happened in the fire station at the entrance to the premiere show case of Dothan, Westgate Park.

After complaints and reports of fireman getting sick, someone in leadership decided something had to be done.

Dothan General Services and a contractor have been in the fire station ripping out the ceiling, the insulation, cleaning up and spending thousands of dollars to get the eye sore of the showcase entrance inhabitable for the fireman. You know those people that save lives and property?

In the back there was a reserve fire engine. But the station looked as an abandoned fire station. Last night the fireman spent the night there. I know that because saw fire equipment there. During the day they are homeless fireman. Do not know where they will sleep tonight.

One thing I missed when I went in disguise at the fire station. While they are working to put it back together - well I did not see them putting insulation back into the ceiling. Also I failed to see rat specialists to make sure the issue at hand, rats, had been solved.

But what do I know? Truthfully, nothing about rats. That is why I asked the Specialist, Dothan Pest Control's Tim Wilkinson.

The fireman would not answer my questions. They are tight lipped because my guess was the leadership of the department did not want Rickey Stokes News to know. 

The City of Dothan General Services and a unknown contractor are working to make the station inhabitable. But if you see tents on the outside of the building it might be the fireman's living quarters.

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