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 will be extended to May 6, 2026.
Question: Are manufacturer-supported, UL-listed fire alarm control panels compatible with the existing devices acceptable as an alternative to the specified EST4 fire alarm control panel?
Answer: No. Compatible alternative panels will not be accepted. An Edwards EST4 fire alarm control panel is specifically required for this upgrade.
Question: If troubleshooting the "unforeseen" issues or the known MAP fault exceeds the 10 hours allocated in CLIN 0003, will the government issue a contract modification, or is the contractor expected to absorb the cost of indefinite repairs under the strict Firm-Fixed Price terms?
Answer: No, the contractor is not expected to absorb the cost of indefinite repairs. The unit is a single floor that occupies approximately 1100-1200sqft. It is 5 rooms with 2 bedrooms and drop ceilings throughout, that is located one apartment away from the main panel. Unit 110 has 5 peripheral devices in it: 1 addressable and 2 non-addressable listed smoke detectors, 1 horn/strobe, and 1 pull station. The replacement of all peripherals in the apartment is already included elsewhere in the contract and that cost will be accounted for under that portion. 10 man hours is reasonable to do any remaining troubleshooting/repairs to correct any remaining wiring or programming problem(s).
Question: Can the government provide the historical maintenance logs or the specific trouble codes currently displayed on the EST3 panel regarding the "known MAP fault" so contractors can accurately assess the severity of the issue?
Answer: The system is annually tested, and all devices have reported to have passed all required tests.
Something was bypassed; I was told it was in apartment 110. I was told there was an issue there. I was not told what the issue was and/or it could not be made clear what the issue was.
The last alerts on the panel are:
0001 Local Trbl Act Cresent House Building
0002 Disabled Active 01020687 Ground Fault Data Card 2
0003 Local Trbl Act 01020682 Map Fault Data Card 2
Question: Can you confirm if the new EST4 panel will require specific legacy loop controller cards or modules to communicate effectively with the 77 existing non-addressable smoke detectors?
Answer: The non-addressable smoke detectors are not tied into the fire alarm panel. They are independent and function to alert residents of cooking issues prior to creating a fire and setting off the addressable smoke detectors that are tied into the panel.
Question: If existing field wiring is found to have ground faults or degradation that prevents proper I/O point-to-point testing with the highly sensitive new EST4 panel, will the government provide a contract modification to correct these issues?
Answer: No, depending on the location and scope of the problem outside of the 10 hrs already allotted, there would either be another contract solicitation to replace all the wiring, or the wiring would be replaced on site by local personnel.
Question: Can the government provide the exact make, model, K-factor, and temperature rating of the "primary style" sprinkler heads currently installed?
Answer: (See Pic)
Viking VK302, Model M, 5.6K, Standard Pendent, QR, ½ NPT, Chrome, 155deg F, equivalent or better.
Question: Can the government confirm the specific candela rating of the existing horn-strobes in Apartment 110, and verify that replacing them with "identical units" will still meet current NFPA 72 spacing and visual notification requirements for a multi-bedroom unit?
Answer: Yes, identical units or better if desired will meet the requirements.
Question: Section B of the scope of work states shop drawings are to be approved by the VA and AHJ. Can you clarify who the AHJ is in this case? In our experience, the VA is the AHJ, so we re just looking for clarity regarding who else needs to approve the shop drawings.
Answer: The Authority Having Jurisdiction will be part of VA s internal approval process.
Question: Section G of the scope of work requires a minimum one-year warranty on all equipment and installation labor to include all reused/reinstalled equipment components. Can you clarify what the warranty is intended to cover with respect to reused equipment? Are you expecting existing smoke detectors, or other similar equipment which we do not touch as part of this upgrade, to be covered under the warranty? Upgrading this fire alarm panel wouldn t typically warrant the entire fire alarm system, especially those components which are existing to remain.
Answer: The contractor is not expected to warrant the entire system with all peripheral devices for 1 year. Only the things that the contractor replaces, installs, or reuses.
Example: If the contractor decides to reuse one of the modules from the old panel, then they just need to warrant that module for a year for replacement including parts and labor at no additional cost to the government.
Question: Section G of the scope of work also requires post-installation technical support by contract terms. What are these terms and how long is this support intended to last? Outside of the warranty, any additional support would need to be handled via contract modification or a NTE line item for a fixed number of support hours. Offerors cannot provide fair and reasonable pricing by including an unknown amount of additional undefined support.
Answer: After the new system is completely installed, tested, and there are no issues, there should be up to a 1-hour exit brief to answer any questions and provide answers to the staff if they have any questions. This would also be a good time to hand-over any paperwork, manuals, testing certificates, etc
Question: Is this system a Speaker Strobe System or Horn Strobe System? The RFP says "Horns Strobes with Speakers"
Answer: Horn Strobe.
Question: If speaker strobe system, are we installing a Microphone in the Main Panel and/or the Annunciator?
Answer: Microphone is not necessary.
Question: Can we get a copy of the existing Edwards SDU program from the original installer? This would answer most questions about system architecture and will be needed for the conversion from EST3 to EST4
Answer: We have a copy of the original installation on a flash drive at the panel. This would be made available at the time of the upgrade. The VA does not allow us the capability to transfer that information from the USB onto a government computer to send out. I will attach a modified printout copy of Q1/FY26 Fire/Life Safety System Inspection, Testing and/or Maintenance Certificate. This lists all the devices.
Question: Are there local 120v Devices in the apartments (maybe these are the non-addressable detectors) or do they need sounder bases with the smoke detectors for general alarm?
Answer: The local 120v devices listed are not tied into the panel system. (Deeper explanation under response for question 4)
Question: Are manufacturer-supported, UL-listed fire alarm control panels compatible with the existing devices acceptable as an alternative to the specified EST4 fire alarm control panel if there s a cost savings available for the government?
Answer: No, the facility wants uniformity among the multiple buildings at multiple sites. This affords the government a separate cost savings not included in this upgrade.
