Cheshire High School - Fire Alarm System Upgrade

Cheshire Public Schools in New Haven County, Connecticut is soliciting sealed proposals for professional installation services to upgrade and replace the fire alarm system at Cheshire High School, located at 525 South Main Street, Cheshire, CT 06410. The procurement seeks the complete installation of a microprocessor-based, addressable fire detection and alarm system featuring integrated voice evacuation capabilities, elevator recall and shunt-trip functionality, and emergency radio communication enhancement. The system must be based on Notifier equipment standards and include addressable smoke and heat detectors, manual pull stations, speaker/strobe notification devices, a touchscreen graphical annunciator, audio amplifiers, and a digital voice command center with specifications encompassing 3,180-point capacity, 4,000-event history buffer, and multi-detector cooperative sensing. All work must comply with NFPA 72 (2019 Edition), NFPA 101 (2021 Edition), the Connecticut State Building Code (2022 Edition), and local authority requirements. The contractor must provide twelve months of maintenance service from substantial completion utilizing factory-authorized representatives within 50 miles of the site, including monthly preventive maintenance visits and 24-hour emergency response, along with spare materials including ten spare detectors of each type and notification devices. Sealed proposals are due March 6, 2026 at 2:00 PM EST, with public opening and reading of proposals immediately following. A mandatory pre-bid walkthrough is scheduled for Monday, February 16, 2026 at 9:00 AM at the school site. Detailed technical specifications, architectural and engineering drawings dated October 24, 2025, and supporting documentation are available on the Cheshire Public Schools website at https://www.cheshire.k12.ct.us/district-departments/school-district-operations/ under the "Bids and Requests for Proposals (RFPs)" section. Inquiries should be directed to Emily Taylor at etaylor2@cheshire.k12.ct.us with copies to Richard Clavet at rclavet@cheshire.k12.ct.us.

Connecticut prevailing wage requirements apply to this project, with hourly base rates ranging from $21.42 to $69.55 and fringe benefits ranging from $7.34 to $44.38 per hour depending on work classifications, with annual adjustments each July 1st. All persons performing on-site work, regardless of ownership status or contractual relationship, must be paid the applicable prevailing wage rate and fringe benefits, with additional premiums of $3.00 per hour applicable for hazardous material removal. Apprentices registered with the Connecticut Commissioner of Labor may be paid a percentage of the journeyperson rate with full fringe benefits, provided the worksite maintains a ratio of at least one full-time journeyperson supervising each apprentice. The RFP solicitation indicates that all vendors are eligible to respond with no specific set-aside designations mentioned; however, no incumbent contractor information or current vendor details are specified in the available documentation. The Cheshire Public Schools reserves the right to amend or terminate the RFP, accept all or any portion of proposals, reject all proposals, waive informalities or non-material deficiencies, and award the contract to the bidder deemed most advantageous to the School's interests. The procurement documents do not specify an estimated total project value or fixed budget range.