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.,,,4, 3 IV. Opinions 1. The presence of mold spores alone does not constitute mold growth. Moisture, as free liquid,can potentially cause microbial growth. In order to establish whether mold growth has occurred, one must test specifically for mold growth. While almost every indoor surface contain normal fall out of mold spores(microscopic offspring of fungi), the growth of these mold spores will not occur unless moisture is present. Mold growth is the presence of vegetative (hyphae) structures or spore producing structures with or without associated spores on a given surface. The presence of just mold spores alone does not constitute mold growth. Similar to presence of dandelion weed seeds on lawns versus the actual growth of the dandelion plants. The latter is what is generally unaccepted by people and it is equally true for molds as well. EMSL Analytical, Inc. reported the results of the tape samples collected by Engineering Systems, Inc. as categories of"count" of fungal spores, structures or hyphae per area analyzed. The results were not reported as"mold growth." 2. Investigation in indoor environments for mold growth requires both visual inspection of the suspected area and proper laboratory analyses. Indian River County Fire Stations 1, 7, 10,and 11 were inspected in July 2014 and March/April 2015 and microbial analyses performed by laboratories. The following laboratory analyses were performed for these fire stations: culturing of swab samples from surfaces for mold and bacteria,culturing of water samples for bacteria,tape samples for mold analysis, spore trap analysis of air, and the use of Mycometer testing for mold. Of the mentioned laboratory analyses,the only proper analysis that provides evidence that actual mold growth occurred is microscopic examination of tape lift samples and swab samples using direct microscopic examination 72