Severed alarm connections in the Ward Hill Industrial Park have been repaired, Mayor James Fiorentini told the City Council on Tuesday, calling the fix a "short-term solution."
The L. W. Bills Company fixed severed connections along Route 125 and repaired a damaged utility pole housing more connections on Ferry Road.
Funding for the repairs came from an unexpected windfall of $60,000 that Fiorentini says was part of a forgotten account from 2007.
Fiorentini said he has instructed Haverhill Fire dispatch to test the connection each day by sending a signal to the industrial park and reporting if its voltage is strong enough for a signal.
However, he warns the city will need to consider other modern notification systems, such as radios, as a more permanent solution.
"I apologize to the businesses," Fiorentini said. "(A broken alarm system) gives the illusion of more than it really is."
The Ward Hill Business Park fire alarm system reportedly has been unreliable for more than two years. Councilor David Hall, chairman of the council's public safety committee, said he used the Freedom of Information Act to investigate how many requests had been made by park tenants to the Fire Department to investigate the system.
Hall said more than 40 written requests were given to the Fire Department and that leadership within the department failed the city.
"I think they short-changed us," said Hall. "There's no leadership down there. You know this as well as I do."
Hall also said that Fiorentini had been uncooperative throughout the crisis by not responding to calls Hall had made to the mayor's office.
"I'm willing to work with you," said Hall. "I don't know if you're willing to work with me."
City council President Michael Hart said he hopes this situation would serve as a lesson for the future.
"This has been completely mishandled," said Hart. "I don't think public safety issues should be handled by catastrophe."
