Oxford County commissioners agreed to spend $9,423 on a fire alarm at the jail.
By Gail Geraghty
Staff Writer

PARIS – Paris firefighters responded early Tuesday to a report of smoke coming from the attic ventilation system of the Oxford County Jail.

Fire Chief Brad Frost climbed into the attic space with the department’s thermal imaging camera, but was unable to determine the source of the smoke. The call came in around 3 a.m.

Frost suspects that ventilation belts had become overheated, because of the smell of rubber that accompanied the smoke.

Later that morning, Oxford County commissioners agreed to take $9,423 from the capital reserve account to install a fire alarm system at the jail. The system will include smoke detectors in the attic space.

The system will be installed by Simplex Grinnell of Westbrook, the firm that is also installing new control panels for the locking system at the jail.

Sheriff Lloyd “Skip” Herrick said the county was lucky this time, but could not put off doing something about a fire alarm system any longer.

Not only are there no smoke detectors in the attic, but “the smoke and heat detector in the jailers’ area didn’t activate” when the smoke started pouring from the attic space, “so there’s a real problem there.”

Commissioners agreed, and said the alarm system was needed even though it had not been budgeted for last fall.

“The issue here is life safety,” said Commissioner Steve Merrill. Adequate fire alarm systems at jails are a requirement of the state Department of Corrections and the State Fire Marshal’s Office, he said.

“This is something we shouldn’t fool with,” added Commissioner Albert “Jim” Carey Jr.

Commissioners also accepted the low bid of $19,020 from Mason Mechanical Systems for replacement of the jail’s boilers. The money will also come from the county’s capital reserve account.

Asbestos removal accounts for nearly a third of the boiler replacement cost, said Administrative Assistant Carole Mahoney.