Worcester County officials have agreed to rent a temporary generator for the jail while plans for replacement of the facility’s backup generator are explored.
The Worcester County Jail in Snow Hill.
File photo
By Charlene Sharpe, Associate Editor
Worcester County officials have agreed to rent a temporary generator for the jail while plans for the replacement of the facility’s backup generator are explored.
The Worcester County Commissioners voted unanimously on April 2 to rent the temporary generator, which will ensure the jail had backup power in the event of an emergency.
“It’s a necessary thing for the jail,” Warden Tim Mulligan said.
Mulligan asked the commissioners this week to approve having Fidelity Power Systems rebuild the disabled generator for about $39,000. He said the backup generator was critical for the jail because when power failed it supplied power to the new section of the jail and also powered the fire pump.
“In the event of a fire it would activate the sprinkler system,” he said. “We have local water there that would, if the sprinkler was activated water would flow through, but the generator supplies additional pressure to that.”
When asked what happened to the generator, Mulligan said a clanking noise was noted in December. In February, crews dismantled the generator to determine the problem and deemed it in need of a rebuild.
While various companies were contacted for quotes, staff said Fidelity was the only one that offered a price for a rebuild rather than a replacement, which would exceed $84,000.
Commissioner Eric Fiori said a catastrophic failure like this one brought up a lot of questions.
“From reading the preliminary maintenance reports it sounds like this engine severely overheated and it could have been completely prevented,” he said. “Allowing the same company to rebuild the engine that was negligent on allowing it to overheat sounds counterproductive.”
He said he wanted the county to look at more options. Commissioner Joe Mitrecic didn’t disagree but said in the meantime the county should get a temporary generator.
“The booster pump needs to be in operation,” he said.
The commissioners voted unanimously to rent a generator for the jail while staff explore other long-term options.