Board of Education (BOE) members approved a contract for the replacement of Newtown High School's fire alarm system in a unanimous vote at their Thursday, July 23 special meeting.

The contract is with Troy Systems LLC, which will replace the fire alarm system for the amount of $249,824.92. This process will replace the fire alarm system for the entire building, including the original system in the school's A, B, and C Wings and the additional system installed in the F Wing.

Facilities Director John Barlow said they went out to bid twice for the replacement, and Troy was the only bidder both times. He added that they are up against the wire in terms of time, but believes they can get it done before school starts; at the meeting, Barlow said the equipment had been secured and the contractor was looking to start as soon as the following Monday.

"So we should have a brand new fire alarm system that will alleviate a lot of the issues we have, like fire alarms going off when we don't expect them to go off," Barlow explained. "And all the devices in the field and the headend equipment will be replaced, too."

BOE member Melissa Beylouni asked what the lifespan of the alarm is, and where the school is currently at with it. Barlow said fire alarms typically last 20 years.

"They do have an end of life to them, so by putting this in now, we should be good for 20 years," Barlow added.

When asked by Beylouni how old the original system was, Barlow said the one in the school's A, B, and C Wings was installed in 1997. The system for the F Wing was installed in 2013, with Barlow saying it was "sort of added to the system that was there."

Barlow had previously spoken to the BOE about replacing the fire alarm system at the group's September 3 meeting last year, as one of the several Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects set for 2027.

At that meeting, Barlow said the school's fire alarm system was a Honeywell Farenhyt, specifically a Hochiki SD. However, Barlow noted Farenhyt decided to discontinue its Hochiki SD product line in 2023. This means the system is no longer serviced by Honeywell, and its parts are "not really readily available."

Barlow added that the screen is completely blank and, if someone tries to do any programming or see where an alarm comes from, they have to do so through a separate panel.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.