UNIVERSITY CITY  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday it had begun an investigation of University City over claims it made to win $2.6 million in stimulus funds for a new fire station.

In a grant application last year, Fire Chief Steve Olshwanger described the current station, at 6801 Delmar Boulevard, as being at risk of collapse, citing damage to support columns.

He also said the station's roof and underlying supports were deteriorated, and that the station was full of black mold.

The Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday that the 107-year-old station had no visible structural problems and that a building inspection submitted in support of the grant did not address structural issues. And an examination of city documents showed that some of the problems cited by Olshwanger have already been fixed.

On Thursday, FEMA spokesman Brad Carroll confirmed the investigation. FEMA's statement said: "As a result of media reports, we immediately requested further documentation from University City officials to verify any data and claims in their grant applications.

"As we stated before, FEMA has no tolerance for fraud, and FEMA may cancel any award if it determines that the information on the application is false."

Carroll also stated that if the agency determines that false information was given, it would notify the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General for further investigation.

FEMA's guidelines for the grant say that top priority would be given "to replace unsafe or uninhabitable structures."

Janet Watson, the city manager for University City, confirmed that she received FEMA's request for additional information on Wednesday and had responded by mail and e-mail.

Watson said that the documents she sent back included the building inspection that cited numerous minor code violations..

When asked if the city would hold off on the project until FEMA completes its investigation, Watson said she hoped to hear back from the agency before the city breaks ground later this year.

University City got the grant in October; the new station is scheduled to be built at Vernon and Westgate avenues. The city is using $200,000 of its own money for the station.

Olshwanger said Thursday that he was not concerned about FEMA's investigation.

"We applied for the grant and we feel that everything is 100 percent legitimate," he said. "I still hope when this is all done that University City gets their fire station that is sorely needed."

In an interview last week, he was asked if he had exaggerated problems at the station. He said he had not.

He cited a report that had recommended a new floor in the bay area.

"I assumed that whatever problems were uncovered at that time were present throughout the building," he said in the interview.

(The floor was repaired in 2008 at a cost of $140,000.)

Olshwanger, 49, worked his last day at U. City on July 19 and will soon take over as chief of the Maryland Heights Fire Protection District.

University City Mayor Shelley Welsch, reached on vacation in Michigan, said she had not read the full grant application and had not toured the station to see its alleged deficiencies for herself.

She stood up for Olshwanger.

"I don't believe there was any intent to deceive on the part of anyone connected to this application," she said.

Welsch, who was elected this year, then took a shot at her predecessors in city government. She said, "I wish the previous administration had provided the chief with professional support and input from a licensed structural engineer when he was preparing the application, which is what the new administration will do as we move forward."

Welsch said she is committed to getting the new station built, saying the current one would not withstand a powerful earthquake.

"Hopefully, we can build it with federal money," she said.

Former Mayor Joe Adams said that he encouraged Olshwanger to seek the federal grant.

Adams, who was mayor for 14 years before stepping down to run for the state Senate, said he was not involved in the grant application process and did not know of any structural problems with the building.

The University City City Council adopted a resolution last year in support of the grant. Council member Lynn Ricci, who voted for it, said she expects the city to investigate the claims that Olshwanger made to FEMA.

"If I became convinced that we improperly filled out the application, then it would have to be set right," said Ricci, a lawyer who has her own firm in Richmond Heights. "We'd have to go back to FEMA, and, if necessary, take our hits."

A FEMA official said Thursday that grant applications go through a review process, but that it was not immediately clear if anyone from the agency had spoken with Olshwanger or other University City officials before awarding the grant.

Olshwanger is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday as fire chief of the Maryland Heights Fire Protection District.

In response to the Post-Dispatch story, the district's board has asked its attorney, Frank Vatterott, to meet with Olshwanger to discuss the story and the grant application.

Elizabethe Holland of the Post-Dispatch staff contributed to this report.