The DeKalb County Courthouse is getting a new full coverage fire alarm system.
When a fire was started in the first floor vestibule on Tuesday, June 14, county officials learned something they had not known. The courthouse fire alarm system in place at the time did not work.
To improve fire safety and bring the 47 year old courthouse up to International Fire Codes, the county sought bids to purchase a new fire alarm system. FireTeam Corporation of Tracy City was awarded the bid at $35,363.81.
“Upon viewing the courthouse a bid was placed to meet International Fire Code 2012 and NFPA National Fire Protection Association 72 to provide complete coverage to the building because it does not have a sprinkler system. That complete coverage covers smoke detectors and heat detectors in every room including bathrooms, closets, etc. so that the building is completely covered in the event of any situation. Also included is duct detectors in the HVAC units which in the event that any smoke is detected in the duct system of the air conditioning and heating system it will shut it down and create an alarm so that it does not accentuate the spread of fire. In the event of a fire in any location, it will shut down the HVAC unit so that it does not spread potential smoke throughout the building which allows for a safer egress of the occupants,” said Glen Cockburn of Fire Team Corporation in an interview with WJLE Friday.
“The new alarm system also includes elevator recall which basically provides that if there is a fire on any given floor the elevator will go to the floor that does not have a fire, open its doors, allow egress from the elevator and then shuts down. The only way it can be used after that is firefighters must insert a fire key to activate the elevator system again. There is also protection in that if there is a fire in the elevator pit it will notify the firefighters that there is a fire in the pit so as not to use the elevator with the fire key,” said Cockburn.
“With the complete coverage there has to be a way to notify the occupants so there are horn strobes almost in every office unless it’s a small office that is close to an exterior horn strobe. There are also strobes only. They are in the bathrooms to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act standards so that if there is a person with a given handicap utilizing the restroom then they will know there is a fire,” Cockburn continued.
“The system at the courthouse will be monitored by FireTeam and in the event of a fire 911 will be notified. At the same time that 911 is notified if its during business hours, the county mayor’s office will also be contacted to notify him of the fire,” added Cockburn.
The work is 75% complete and should be finished soon.
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