The fire system at Lapham Community Center has failed and must be replaced on an emergency basis, town officials said this week.
The system was original to the 1915-built building and only the panels had been upgraded during an original renovation in 1996, according to Penny Young, co-chair of the Town Council’s Infrastructure and Utilities Committee.
“They don’t give any signals,” Young said during an Oct. 15 Committee meeting, held at Town Hall. “So they are working on the replacement of that. The Fire Department has been alerted. The building does not have an alarm on it.”
The information came during an update from Young on various town-owned buildings.
Lapham serves as New Canaan’s senior center, offering a wide variety of exercise, arts-and-crafts, music, education and other special programming.
The town three years ago replaced the roof at the building and made other general repairs for $450,000, tax records show.
In addition to the failed fire system, the leaders for stormwater drainage at Lapham appear to be clogged, Young said.
“There are two additional leaks in what is called the turret sections of the building,” Young said. “It has been a problem forever. Ever and ever and ever. And even though we put a new roof on, what we didn’t do apparently was snake the pipes to see whether or not the pipes were clear. So when we got more water in the building, they finally snaked the pipes with a camera and found out it was blocked.”
Workers likely will remove the ceiling from an entrance hall bathroom in the building to open up the area, assess the problem and make repairs, she said.
The project will paid for with contingency funds, Young said.