Interim Principal Greg Alberding (AKA “Mr. A”) knew MOST of what he was getting into when he signed on to help lead our school’s ministry in the summer of 2025, but he had not counted on getting some other “hands-on” experience responding to an inspection by the State Fire Marshall!

Over the last several months our Tuesday Crew of volunteer workers have responded to most of the issues the fire marshal identified, but one was outside of our area of expertise: inspecting and updating an aging fire alarm system.

INSPECTION

Mr. A spent a good part of this spring getting quotes for and scheduling the inspection which was finally completed by Koorsen Fire and Security.  They found several deficiencies, some of which could be completed rather simply and quickly.  Others required a bit more time and effort.

AGING COMPONENTS

A critical component of our fire alarm system are heat detectors which are placed in storage areas, near air handlers and duct work, and in other areas where smoke may not be the first indication of a fire. These heat detectors should be replaced every 15 years. All 21 of the heat detectors in our system were ORIGINAL equipment with a date code of 1979! 

The first step was to replace 22 heat and smoke detectors that, while they were functioning, were significantly older than what was acceptable …by 32 years! The work was completed for a cost of $6,100.  BUT, when completing that work the team from Koorsen found additional units that required replacement so they provided an updated quote for service that was in excess of $8,100 (a quote that included the rental of an articulating lift necessary to access components in the gymnasium ceiling) bringing the total invested to around $15,000! 

NEXT STEPS

Since we have other work to complete in our gymnasium ceiling, we decided to arrange for the lift ourselves. The elimination of this and one other item brought the quote from Koorsen down to $3,300 …bringing the total invested to less than $9,500. 

A School Board member arranged for a discount for the articulating lift with his employer for a cost of less than $1,500 … so $11,000 instead of $15,000 … AND we get the use of the lift for an entire week.