Today was moving day for some Mobile firefighters as the Douglas A. Melton Fire station off Lafayette Street reopened its doors. Back in June we reported that the fire station had to temporarily close down due to asbestos and mold. This project was expected to take a couple of weeks, but it’s been about five months now. That’s because they had to be thorough, making sure everything was good to go before moving fire fighters back inside of the station this morning.

Melton Fire Station has been a staple in the Midtown community since 1969, but it was closed since this summer because what started as a roofing project

"Turned into a complete overhaul in asbestos abatement project as well as gutting it, giving it a lot of tender love and care from top to bottom," says Steven Milhouse with Mobile Fire and Rescue.

Milhouse tells me everything from the ceiling tiles, the insulation, the plumbing, and the gut work has been redone.

"Basically, everything except tearing it down and building a new one. She's got some nice new fixtures and pearly whites inside, and our crews have moved back in just in time for the holidays," he says.

When they found the asbestos, they shut the station down and relocated the crews to different fire stations around the city, so they would still be able to respond to the midtown community as well as other areas.

Milhouse tells me fire fighters at Melton Station are happy to be home.

"Strategically relocated and kind of pushed into other stations, and those other stations were a little crammed. Having a few extra people come in for several weeks it's okay early on, but after a while it's like ‘alright we want you guys to go back home’ and those guys were ready to go back home too,” says Milhouse. "There's no place like home"

Milhouse tells me there has not been any reported illnesses from the asbestos exposure and they're grateful that they're being welcomed back into the community with opened arms.