Schools on Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi Island scheduled for new systems
Posted: January 11, 2024
he Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) says it’s working to replace inoperable fire alarm systems at 11 schools at a cost of about $14 million after confirming in December that nearly 10% of the state’s public schools failed fire inspections last school year.
Some school fire alarm systems have not worked for years, such as at Konawaena Elementary, where the system has been inoperable since Nov. 2019.
Fire safety inspections for the 2023–2024 school year are ongoing through January.
Twenty-four schools have fire alarm systems that need repair or replacement, as first publicly revealed during a Hawaiʻi Board of Education meeting last November. The department said 15 of those were considered critical, and were scheduled to go out to bid next year at an anticipated cost of $36.1 million.
The HIDOE’s latest update, posted Tuesday, offered details on 11 schools with inoperable systems and the status of each project, but did not detail how long the systems have been down.
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| School | Project name | Project status | Construction contract cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heʻeia Elementary, Oʻahu | Fire alarm system replacement | In construction | $1,590,660 |
| Kahuku High & Intermediate, Oʻahu | Fire alarm system replacement | In construction | $1,413,620 |
| King Kaumualiʻi Elementary, Kauaʻi | Fire alarm system replacement | In construction | $1,189,190 |
| Lāʻie Elementary, Oʻahu | Fire alarm system replacement | In construction | $562,709 |
| Pearl City High, Oʻahu | Fire alarm system replacement | In construction | $1,798,378 |
| Sunset Beach Elementary, Oʻahu | Fire alarm system replacement | Pre-construction (contract awarded) | $902,842 |
| School | Project name | Project status | Estimated construction cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kainalu Elementary, Oʻahu | Fire alarm system replacement | Permit submitted | $700,000 |
| Kapaʻa High, Kauaʻi | Fire alarm system replacement | Design: Final | $2,404,905 |
| Kapalama Elementary, Oʻahu | Fire alarm control panel replacement | Procurement: Pre-bid | $75,000 |
| Fire alarm system replacement | Design: Final | $1,500,000 | |
| Konawaena Elementary, Hawaiʻi Island | Fire alarm control panel replacement | Procurement: Pre-bid | $75,000 |
| Fire alarm system replacement | Design: Preliminary | $1,500,000 | |
| Solomon Elementary, Oʻahu | R&M design service contract (Repair due to water damage from roof leak) |
Scoping | TBD pending scope |
Curt Otaguro, deputy superintendent of operations, told the Board of Education Finance and Infrastructure Committee Thursday that three of the initial critical projects have since been completed, however two additional schools recently reported alarm issues. Otaguro did not name the two newest schools with alarm problems, but said one is an elementary school on Oʻahu while the other is on a neighbor island.
During the meeting, Board Chair Warren Haruki asked Otaguro to provide more up-to-date information in his memos, as the department’s latest update did not include schools that had their fire systems repaired.
Haruki also requested that the department include details about when the school’s alarm system broke, a timeline for fixing it, and a project completion date.
According to the state House Schools Working Group, which was formed in the aftermath of the Lahaina wildfires, “a significant number of school buildings in Hawaiʻi lack modern fire suppression systems, such as automatic fire sprinklers and fire alarms, leaving them vulnerable in the event of a fire.”
Deputy superintendent Otaguro maintained that for “schools in the process of completing a fire alarm system replacement, each school has interim measures in place until their systems become operable,” which includes utilizing a fire watch plan for their campus.
During Thursday’s BOE committee meeting, Otaguro explained that a fire watch plan is implemented when any fire alarm system is down for four hours or more.
“Before a fire watch can be asked to be approved or implemented. It has to be approved by the fire department…so they are aware that a specific school or specific building or wherever we’re going to implement a fire watch is in place.
“A person is assigned to this and to be aware of the situation and they’re trained to do this…And so it’s generally it’s a phone call that happens if there’s something to to alert them to,” Otaguro said, detailing that essentially, the assigned person on campus makes manual phone calls to different buildings, rooms, and teachers about the fire in order for everyone to evacuate.
In his memo to the BOE, Otaguro said the department requested $10 million for fire alarms for fiscal year 2024–2025, which was not included in the governor’s approved budget.
HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr. testified at Thursday’s meeting saying, “We are disappointed to see that the requested $10 million for fire alarms was not included in the governor’s approved budget for health and safety related projects.
“However HSTA can assist in getting those funds, please Superintendent Hayashi, Board members, let us know,” Tui told BOE members.
“If there are changes that might need to be made, perhaps, at the county level to expedite fire alarm permit approvals, please let us know how HSTA can be of assistance in working with you to advocate for those changes. Waiting for 12-18 months for permitting is not something any of us can be comfortable with when it comes to ensuring our schools are properly equipped with critical and functional fire alarms,” Tui added.
Otaguro said during Thursday’s meeting that “what I’m assessing now is that it’s probably not enough ($10 million), obviously. So it’s going to be depending on which systems fail and which systems we need to address. We have commissioned a consultant to help us re-evaluate or at least clean up our database of all 258 schools.”
“We will come back to the board to say that this is a kind of funding necessary to tackle these issues,” Otaguro added.
Otaguro pointed to various issues that can lead to delays in project completion including product availability, the lack of certified parts for systems that are no longer in production, differing permitting processes by county, and material equipment delays.
The department explored a possible wireless fire alarm solution, but noted that after consulting with Honolulu and Maui County Fire Departments and other leading fire alarm consultants and providers, that current products on the market will not meet national school code requirements for permanent installations due to the lack of speakers.
The HIDOE will “continue to keep abreast of wireless technology to find potential alternative solutions as technologies rapidly advance.”
Otaguro told the board that because fire technology is “technology driven now,” and to comply with different county guidelines, that the department needs “a dedicated person or a group that’s going to be assigned with the DOE (to handle fire alarm systems).
“It’s not a project…We need a little more oversight to just help schools to make sure that they understand what the plans are once a fire situation does occur,” Otaguro said.
The HSTA Board of Directors expressed concerned about the ongoing issue and would like to see the following:
- An increased number of fire alarm pull stations
- An increased frequency of inspections of school fire alarm systems
- A fully functional fire suppression system in every school
- Multiple evacuation points for emergencies for every school
- A fully functional fire extinguisher in every classroom