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To: Finance - Purchasing <br />From: Angel Barnes, Capital Projects Manager, Asset Management Services <br />Date: March 10, 2026 <br />Subject: Sole Source Justification for the Orange County Animal Services and Richard E. <br />Whitted Fire Alarm Replacement – Siemens Fire Safety System <br /> <br />1. Scope of Work <br />This request is for the procurement and installation of a Desigo/XLS Fire Alarm System <br />at Richard E. Whitted Complex. The work includes a complete Fire Alarm System, <br />including new cabling, voice notification, two annunciators, Rath Area of Rescue <br />Assistance, Smart Sprinkler, Building X Gateway, detectors, and mass notification <br />components. <br /> <br />2. Justification for Sole Source (Check the primary driver) <br />• Proprietary Technology & Integration: Our facility currently utilizes an existing <br />Siemens network. The Siemens Fire Systems use proprietary communication <br />protocols and software that do not license third-party vendors to interface at the <br />panel's "head-end" level. Head-End Interface Explanation When Siemens states <br />that they do not allow third-party interface at the head-end level, they are referring <br />to the primary fire alarm control and supervisory platform—the system layer <br />responsible for life-safety functions such as alarm processing, event <br />prioritization, system logic, annunciation, historical logging, diagnostics, and <br />code-required reporting. <br />• While Siemens fire alarm systems can support limited, supervised integrations <br />at the field-device or monitoring level (for example, dry contacts or defined <br />protocol interfaces for specific subsystems), Siemens does not permit <br />third-party control, programming, or replacement of the head-end fire alarm <br />control equipment or software. Allowing a non-Siemens party to control or <br />modify that layer would compromise system integrity, UL listings, NFPA <br />compliance, and manufacturer certification. <br />• It is not typical, nor supported, for a system to have all other aspects controlled <br />by third parties while retaining a Siemens head-end. The head-end serves as the <br />life-safety authority of the system, and Siemens maintains exclusive <br />responsibility for its configuration, firmware, and programming. <br />Docusign Envelope ID: 08E91030-922D-4709-869D-15E7C7C2215B