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The Troup County Board of Commissioners has approved contracts to install new fire alarm systems at the Troup County Government Center and the Administration Building on Dallis St.

Assistant County Manager Jay Anderson said the current fire alarm systems have reached the end of their usefulness due to their age. He said parts are no longer being made for the systems, which are at least 18 years old.

It’s becoming more and more difficult to find parts for repairs, said Anderson, noting they have had to resort to purchasing them off eBay at times.

Anderson said the control panels for the current MXL system were phased out in September 2018 and in December 2020 the detectors for those systems were phased out.

The Board of Commissioners approved replacing the same system in the Troup County Jail in 2020. The county has since been using the old system for replacement parts, but they are now having difficulty finding replacement parts, which Siemens does not produce anymore.

Anderson recommended replacing the system with Siemens’ Desigo Fire Safety System, which he said is their most advanced system.

The replacement contract includes all new smoke detectors, duct detectors, heat detectors, pull stations, relay modules and monitor modules, along with reprograming the system.

The price to replace the fire alarm system at the government center, including the Juvenile Court, is $126,940. The Admin Building, which is about half as large, will cost $62,805.

Anderson said the warranty on the system is two or three years, but there is no real way to tell how long the parts are going to be made.

“They don’t quote exactly what the lifespan is, but this is their current system. I don’t think anyone’s going to guarantee that ‘yes, we’ll have parts till [a certain year],’” Anderson said.

“I don’t think anyone has an 18-plus-year TV at their house or cell phone or computer or laptop. I don’t think anyone has anything [electronic] over 18 years old, but our fire alarm system is,” Anderson said.