[Pumptesting] Pumphouse Problem follow-up - Requesting update on pump house from Sunday

Ross Harpestad grsshppr at kumango.net
Wed Sep 24 16:05:35 EDT 2025


in order:
1) Shortly after the power blip, I received a call from Everon/ADT/Whatever
they're called now saying they received a fire alert. I did inform them we
just had a power blip and while that should send them a trouble alert, they
shouldn't have gotten a Fire Alarm. She confirmed a Fire Alarm and said
the FD was notified. I went onto the campus and met the FD at the pump
house.
2) Unknown - The FD was checking the pump when I arrived, they then checked
the FACP and reset the alarm before I could look at it. I didn't follow up-
I assume the alarm/alert is still in the log.
3) Yes.
4a) Nothing to my knowledge.
4b) Nothing to my knowledge.
4c) A reset was done.
4d) Nothing to my knowledge.
5) Talking to the FD, they agreed the power blip likely tripped the alarm.
6) None. I recall seeing the FD arrive for a power blip a few
weeks earlier. Once the FD left, I was getting ready to leave when it
occurred to me that a simple power blip should not be triggering a fire
alert and subsequently calling the FD. I first thought that perhaps
something on the FACP was changed or recoded recently, and I sent a note to
Adam. Then it occurred to me that perhaps the power transfer switch didn't
engage properly. If that doesn't switch, the Pump Control would indeed be
utterly without power and force a FACP alert which could trigger a call to
the FD. I then thought to ask if the Power Transfer Switch was still being
tested. I considered testing the Power Transfer Switch but was worried that
if it didn't switch properly, it may trigger another alert, so I left it
untested.
7) Which controller status are you asking about?  I personally didn't check
the pump controller nor the FACP. I did look at the Power Control Switch
and it read normal, but that would be expected as the power was back on and
the generator wasn't running. The Power Control Switch isn't smart and
doesn't hold a log.
8) Unknown.
9) Not I.
9a) Unknown.
9b) Unknown.

I hope this helps.

Ross

On Wed, Sep 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM Tara Halwes <tarahalwes at gmail.com> wrote:

> Adam or Ross, (or??)
>
> FD on site Sunday presumably was because of power blip Ross mentioned re:
> transfer switch testing. He said they came because they received an alarm
> call from our FACP at #90. I want to log relevant details so please reply
> to this list with the following if you know.
>
> 1. Who actually spoke to the FD?
> 2. What was the specific error or alarm code that was sent from the FACP?
> 3. Did that align with whatever the FD said they got an alert about?
> 4. What if anything was done or changed 4.a) with the fire pump control
> panel?
> 4.b) with the transfer switch or main power switch?
> 4.c) with the FACP directly?
> 4.d) other?
> 5. What was concluded by the fire department? (Or Encore or Everon if
> engaged?)
> 6. What next steps were suggested or planned (aside from asking about
> Transfer Switch testing which Ross has already done)?
> 7. Was the controller status checked at the time of the FD visit? It
> should have been, if the alarm related to power. What was the status?
> 8. Was the status screen in the “firmware updating state” at that time?
> 9. If so, did anyone follow the posted instructions for resetting it?
> 9.a. If yes, then we have a new problem which is that it’s already
> glitched again and it’s only been 3 days.
> 9.b. If no, then it’s just a human process problem/gap we can address
> without spending money.
>
>
> *Wednesday Sept 24, 2026 - Current status*:
>
>    - The fire pump controller is in the “firmware updating” state.
>    -  previously gave us a procedure for getting it unstuck from that
>    state, which is posted on the wall above the test instructions.
>    - Courtney and I didn’t want to do that without knowing if the current
>    state is
>    - A) an *intentional* result of something one of you or the Fire
>    Department did on Sunday, versus
>    - B) a new issue since Sunday, vs
>    - C) a thing that wasn’t noticed on Sunday but may have already been
>    happening and thus potentially (accurately) sending an alarm.
>    - Either way we may not have pump power redundancy until the
>    controller is restarted, but it would also be good to understand why this
>    is happening
>
> Thanks,
> ~Tara
>
>
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