Secret report commissioned by the MFS recommended closing the Largs North Fire Station

A secret report commissioned by the MFS recommended closing the Largs North Fire Station — but the fire service is ignoring it.

GHD testing the soil and fruit trees in surrounding area of the Largs North MFS station for the potentially deadly chemical PFAS. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

The Metropolitan Fire Service is defying a recommendation from a global expert to permanently close its contaminated Largs North Fire Station, focusing instead of returning firefighters to the site.

The MFS commissioned the report from Mick Tisbury, a vice president of the United Firefighters Union and a commander in the Melbourne Fire Brigade, after Largs North firefighters abandoned the station last year worried about contamination by a chemical called PFAS, which has been linked to a host of deadly diseases, including cancer.

The previously unreleased Tisbury report concluded the threat of “continued PFAS contamination remained high’’, even if the site was remediated.

The report was uncovered as part of an SA Weekend investigation into Largs North Fire Station, published in The Advertiser on Saturday.

The Tisbury report found both the “site and infrastructure’’ of Largs North was heavily contaminated with PFAS, a chemical used for decades in firefighting foam.

“The decommissioning of any fire station required careful consideration, however taking into account all of the information presented; it is recommended that SAMFS strongly consider permanently decommissioning Largs North Fire Station,’’ Mr Tisbury wrote in a report delivered to the MFS in February.

The Largs North Fire Station. Picture: Matt Turner

Firefighters at the Largs North station have returned PFAS levels in their blood between 40 and 120 times higher than normal levels.

However, despite the recommendation, the MFS wants to return firefighters to Largs North. A move many of the firefighters and their families oppose. The MFS also commissioned a report by engineering consultants GHD into the future of Largs North.

GHD also found the station had been contaminated by PFAS but believed it could be made safe through remediation.

The MFS relied on the GHD report in its April PFAS newsletter to decide: “Once the rear yard has been remediated...and the station has had a final clean, it is the MFS intention, in consultation with the UFU to return firefighters to Largs North Fire Station.’’

The MFS declined to answer any questions from SA Weekend about Largs North.

Mr Tisbury, who has addressed United Nations’ conferences on PFAS, told SA Weekend he had been dropped like a “hot potato’’ by the MFS after delivering his report.

PFAS contamination is a risk for more than just the firefighters, according to the GHD report.

More than 500 registered residential bores are in a 2km radius of the fire station.

GHD confirmed the presence of PFAS in the groundwater below the station, as well as in the verge beyond the station.

Further testing has been undertaken to determine the extent of the PFAS plume.

Victorian MFB firefighter Mick Tisbury.

However, the GHD report, which has also been obtained by SA Weekend, concluded that “the groundwater flow direction was inferred to flow towards the north east towards a residential area located immediately north and north east of the Largs North Fire Station’’.

Both the Tisbury and GHD reports indicate Largs North is not the only source of the PFAS in the groundwater.

In his report, Mr Tisbury said there had been an “unexplained loss of 100s of litres of AFFF foam concentrate directly into the ground and water table, from a major hazard facility’’.

Adjacent to the station in Largs North is the Atom fuel supply depot, of which oil company BP is a joint venture partner.

However, in a statement, BP denied it was responsible for PFAS contamination.

“There is no evidence that indicates BP’s terminal operations have caused or contributed to the reported contamination at Largs North Fire Station,’’ a spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for the state’s Environmental Protection Authority said it was the MFS’s responsibility to inform local residents of any contamination but said anyone worried should have their water tested.

“There is no evidence to suggest that home-grown produce from properties surrounding the Largs North fire station is affected by contaminated bore water,’’ the spokesperson said.

It is believed the EPA is holding a meeting with the Port Adelaide Resident’s Environment Group within the month.

However, the EPA has previously acknowledged the extent of PFAS contamination on the Le Fevre Peninsula. An 2017 EPA report found elevated PFAS levels in Port River dolphins.