Greensburg Salem aims to have a working fire alarm system at its Nicely Elementary School before students return to its halls Aug. 26.

The school’s fire alarm stopped working in mid-April when a power surge — prompted by nearby line replacement work by West Penn Power — damaged the alarm system. The Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department and code enforcement office permitted the district to operate Nicely under a fire watch until the end of the academic year June 6.

Nicely’s school police officer, one of five officers in the district, monitored the building for signs of potential fire hazards any time students or staff were in the building, said Superintendent Ken Bissell.

Fire watch also requires that the monitoring officer knows how to use a fire extinguisher and has a plan in place to notify the entire school if an evacuation is necessary, said Greensburg fire Chief Tom Bell.

Greensburg Salem received permits from Jefferson Hills-based Code Enforcement Agency on July 25 to begin the fire alarm replacement. Work started July 28, Bissell said. The nearly $61,400 project will be covered by the district’s insurance, he said.

The district initially anticipated the system would be replaced earlier in the summer. Bissell said in May the repairs would take place “as soon as approved parts and services were available in early June.”

The fire watch was continued in June and July during summer camps and work activities at the school, Bissell said.

Bell was unaware the district would have students or staff in the building during the summer.

“We were not aware of any functions,” he said. “My understanding was at the end of the school year, (building use) was supposed to be ceased and no one was to be in the building until they had an active fire alarm system.”

The fire watch protocol is commonly used to maintain safety while ordering parts, making repairs or installing a new fire alarm system, Bell said. But it should only be used temporarily, he said.

“I know things take time, but here we are (three) weeks from school and we still don’t have a functional alarm system in that building yet,” he said.

“They’re working on it. They’ve got the permits and everything, and I’m hoping — and I’m sure everybody’s hoping — that that alarm system will be up and running.”

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