WHEELING — The Ohio County Board of Education this week unanimously approved a contract to replace the fire alarm system at Wheeling Park High School.

Erb Electric of Bridgeport will do the work for $694,556.

Steven Bieniek, business manager for Ohio County Schools, recommended to board members the bid be approved with the option of replacement with the Siemens-Desigo software system “so that it links up with other buildings” in Ohio County Schools.

This will allow school officials to look online and see exactly where an alarm emergency is happening in a specific building.

Board member Molly Aderholt noticed the bid was considerably less than others submitted, and she asked Bieniek why this was the case.

“It was my understanding that Erb Electric spent an extensive amount of time at Wheeling Park High School,” he said. “There was a pre-bid (session) where (David Crumm, operations director for Ohio County Schools) went over everything, and Erb then spent more time on location.

“This job is an enormous undertaking. It involves opening up the building in some respects, so the more time you spend on site the more knowledge you have and the better numbers you can put on paper.”

Crumm explained the current fire alarm system at WPHS is more than 25 years old, and work is going to involve replacing the entire system.

He noted some of the wiring is original to the building, which was constructed in the mid-1970s. Since then, additional spaces such as the J.B. Chambers Performing Arts Center and wrestling room addition have been constructed.

The new system will have to function over 350,000 square feet of space, according to Crumm.

“It has just been pieced together and pieced together. I think the last update — and it’s to the point where it can’t be done anymore — was in the 2000s,” he said.

Siemens also spent a long time at WPHS gathering information, but in the end chose not to submit a bid.

Other school buildings received new fire alarm systems in recent years as Ohio County Schools completed more than $100 million in facility upgrades throughout the school district. Among those receiving new systems were Bridge Street and Triadelphia middle schools, and Middle Creek and Elm Grove elementary schools.

Based on the costs for the upgrades in those facilities, the cost for WPHS “came in right where I thought it would be,” Crumm said.

“I do know Erb has put in several of these associated with the bond projects,” he continued. “They know how this stuff is put together.”

Erb Electric next will design the fire alarm system, which will then be submitted to the State Fire Marshal’s Office for approval.

Crumm has said the current fire alarm system will stay in service while the work to replace it is being done. He expects it to be a six-to-eight-month project, and for construction to be completed by the start of the 2026-2027 school year.