By ED PILOLLA

Staff writer

County commissioners approved $4,050 Monday to upgrade the fire suppression systems for the kitchen stoves at the Peabody and Hillsboro senior centers.

Gayla Ratzlaff, coordinator for the county’s department on aging, said that both stoves as well as the stove at the Marion Senior Center were “red-tagged” in October, indicating that they must be upgraded to meet current fire codes.

The Marion gas stove already contained a fire suppression system within its hood and simply needed a new cylinder with dry chemical instead of liquid to douse a fire, Ratzlaff said. That upgrade was completed Friday and cost $500, which the Marion Senior Center paid for itself, she said.

The senior centers in Hillsboro and Peabody, on the other hand, need new fire suppression systems for their stove hoods, each of which costs $2,025 in addition to the cost of an electrician to install them.

The senior centers in Hillsboro and Peabody plan to pay for the cost of the electrician, but both requested the county pick up the tab for the new fire suppression systems.

“Basically what they have had in their senior centers is just the fire extinguishers,” Ratzlaff said. “So if a fire were to erupt they would use the fire extinguishers, whereas this system cuts off the gas and does all of that.”

When Commissioner Lori Lalouette-Crawford questioned why the county, which does not own the senior centers, would pay for such an upgrade, Commissioner Randy Dallke said other organizations make similar requests of the county as well, particularly for county events. Commissioner Dan Holub added that county and city governments can by law contribute public funds for the health and safety of its citizens. The commission voted 3-0.

The money for the fire suppression system will come from the department on aging’s budget.

In other business:

• Commissioners approved $1,300 for a Lenovo Yoga Tablet for the health department.