J042--Fire Alarm System Inspection, Testing, Maintenance, and Certification Services at the Bedford VA Medical Center

Amendment No.: 0005
Solicitation No.: 36C24126Q0613
Date: August 5, 2026

Purpose of Amendment

The purpose of this amendment is to extend the response due date from August 10, 2026 to August 24, 2026.

Amendment No.: 0004
Solicitation No.: 36C24126Q0613
Date: July 29, 2026

Purpose of Amendment

The purpose of this amendment is to provide responses to questions submitted regarding the solicitation. As a result of these questions and responses, the response due date remains unchanged.

1. Question: For locations that are leased, when do the leases expire? Would it occur during this contract?

Answer: Not part of this contract, 20yr lease

2. Question: On page 4 of the RFP, annual inspections must be completed prior to the 15th of the month. Is there any leniency for quarterly/semi-annual inspections?

Answer: There is leniency on the dates as long as it is prearranged.

3. Question: The fire alarm systems at this facility are proprietary, however in the RFP you specified programming and maintenance of systems is included. Would you please explain in further detail?

Answer: Edwards equipment is proprietary as in it is not “off the shelf” and all Fire Alarm Equipment under the contract is Edwards equipment and tied into the Edwards FireWorks graphical command-and-control software and incident management platform. The contractor must have a certified Edwards FireWorks Programmer for programming, maintenance, and staff training. The company must also have Edwards certified technicians to work on the fire alarm system when required. This is also a measured Performance Standard under the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

4. Question: Can backflow preventers be performed during regular business hours?

Answer: Yes

5. Question: Are there any restrictions to what services can be performed during regular business hours?

Answer: No, there are no restrictions on what regularly scheduled services are performed during specific times. As long as it is scheduled ahead of time. Emergency services which are included in this contract are not restrained to regular business hours though and their specifics are stated in the SOW.

6. Question: Are there any services that are required to be performed during after-hours?

Answer: Yes, emergency services for unforeseen issues that arise. The specific requirements are stated in the SOW, and response times are a measured Performance Standard under the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). There are no regularly scheduled maintenance services that need to be performed after-hours though.

7. Question: Can you provide previous sprinkler test reports?

Answer: No, but I can provide the last one for one of the buildings as an example and that most of the gauges are due for replacement. However, they would be due for replacement over the life of the fully executed contract anyways (5 yrs). The inspection provided is for the building 78, one of the largest buildings under the contract. Also, the inventory for the equipment was provided as Attachment A.

8. Question: Can you provide previous annual fire alarm test reports?

Answer: No but I can provide the last one for one of the buildings. The one provided was for building 78, one of the largest buildings under the contract. Also, the inventory for the equipment was provided as an Attachment.

9. Question: Should Annual State Elevator Testing be included?

Answer: No, that is covered by the Engineering Service.

10. Question: Are there any confined or hazardous spaces worth noting?

Answer: No, all of the spaces to service the Fire Alarm System are regular access or Maintenance Access Areas.

11. Question: Is Annual Emergency Lights and Exit Signs testing included? If so, how many are in each facility?

Answer: No, that is covered by the Engineering Service.

12. Question: Are monitoring services included in this proposal?

Answer: Monitoring services referring to someone for the Fire Alarm Panel to notify when a fire alarm goes off to call the fire department. Then no, we have a separate contractor that monitors the alarms for the system and notifies the fire department.

We do require emergency services as needed and that information is included in the SOW and response times are a measured Performance Standard under the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

13. Question: Can we assume that because the base award is for 1 year, that only 20% of consumables (batteries) will be replaced each year?

Answer: Yes, that is correct for batteries and fire extinguishers. Although, some of them might need to be replaced at the beginning of the first year.

14. Question: Is modification of the system programming or Fire Works panel required?

Answer: Yes, at different times the programming will need updates by a tech that is factory certified.

15. Question: Are repairs billable or to be included in the contract?

Answer: Some but most should be included in the contract. It depends on the type, this is detailed in the SOW.

16. Question: Should we include any repairs in the fire alarm maintenance and testing line-item price?

Answer: Yes, repairs identified during testing usually. This is detailed in the SOW.

17. Question: Is Edwards factory training certification required?

Answer: Yes, for programming and any panel work respectively, Edwards factory training certification is required.

18. Question: Will the contract be awarded for 1 year with the option for 4 additional, or a total of 5 years?

Answer: Base year, plus 4 additional option years (Refer to Solicitation).

19. Question: Can you provide a record of previous 3-year and 5-year inspections?

Answer: No, the inventory list was provided as Attachment A and this year’s annual inspections for sprinkler and fire for one building is also being provided.

20. Question: Is it adequate to test duct smoke detectors via remote test stations?

Answer: Yes, we have remote key activators already for many of the duct smokes.

21. Question: Should we use the counts for fire extinguishers according to the RFP or the counts provided?

Answer: The fire extinguisher count provided in the equipment inventory is a 1 for 1 count. That number can go up or down by a few if we renovate space or remove a vehicle from our inventory and no longer need one/two or require another one/two for it as an example. The original purchase would not be required under the contract, but the subsequent inspections and future replacement testing would be required under the contract.

Amendment No.: 0003
Solicitation No.: 36C24126Q0613
Date: July 27, 2026

Purpose of Amendment

The purpose of this amendment is to provide responses to questions submitted regarding the solicitation. As a result of these questions and responses, the response due date remains unchanged.

1. Question: Please confirm that the fire extinguishers require 6-year maintenance (rather than 5-year maintenance).

Answer: We have both types of fire extinguishers. The majority of the extinguishers (712/719) are on the 12-year life cycle/6-year maintenance cycle.

The (3) 10lb Carbon Dioxide and (4) 6Ltr Class K are on the 5-year life cycle.

2. Question: Please confirm that the awarded contract does not include upgrading equipment, and that the scope is limited to the replacement of existing components as required.

Answer: No, there are no upgrades that are included with this contract. Any upgrades will be separate contracts and completed outside the scope of this contract. Those contracts will be solicited through standard solicitation practices to be bid upon. When the EST3 to EST4 upgrade is completed, estimated at 2yrs out and they are all set up the regular scheduled inspections/testing will just recommence on the new EST4 panels.

Amendment No.: 0002
Solicitation No.: 36C24126Q0613
Date: July 23, 2026

Purpose of Amendment

The purpose of this amendment is to provide responses to questions submitted regarding the solicitation. As a result of these questions and responses, the response due date remains unchanged.

1. Question: Is there any chance you can accommodate another site visit, or reschedule?

Answer: Yes. We can add another site visit for: Monday, July 27, 2026 at 11:00am EST.  As a result of the added site visit, the cut-off date and time for receipt of questions has been extended from Monday, July 27, 2026 at 12:00PM EST to Wednesday, July 29, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST.

Amendment No.: 0001
Solicitation No.: 36C24126Q0613
Date: July 22, 2026

Purpose of Amendment

The purpose of this amendment is to provide responses to questions submitted regarding the solicitation. As a result of these questions and responses, the response due date remains unchanged.

1. Question: The solicitation title and pricing schedule reference only fire alarm system inspection and repairs. However, the Statement of Work appears to include a much broader scope covering fire alarm detection systems, FireWorks network programming, fire sprinkler systems, fire suppression and kitchen suppression systems, fire extinguishers, fire pumps, hydrants, standpipes, backflow preventers, valves, smoke and heat detectors, notification devices, rolling fire doors, elevator fire alarm interfaces, and all associated components.

Could you please clarify whether the contractor is expected to provide services for all of these systems under this solicitation, or if the scope is limited to fire alarm system inspection and repairs as reflected in the pricing schedule.

Answer: The Statement of Work is the controlling document for purposes of this requirement. The Contractor shall provide a quote based on the requirements detailed in the Statement of Work.

1. Question: Can you submit a copy of the equipment list?

Answer: Yes. See Attachment 1 – Equipment List, attached to this amendment.

Description

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued.

This solicitation is issued as an RFQ. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2026-01, dated 3/13/2026.

This solicitation is SDVOSB set-aside.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541990, with a small business size standard of $19.5 million. The FSC/PSC is J042.

The Bedford VA Medical center located at 200 Springs Road in Bedford, MA 01730 is seeking to purchase Fire Alarm System Inspection, Testing, Maintenance, and Certification Services, with four (4) one year option periods. Wage Determination 2015-4047, Rev 34 is applicable

(see Attachment 1).