El Paso County facilities staff on a tour described how a centralized boiler system heats seven main downtown buildings, including the courthouse and nearby civic venues. Josh, the county mechanical team lead, said the Central Utility Plant houses three 10,000,000-BTU boilers that “feed steam to 7 buildings downtown.”

The explanation came during a facilities walkthrough in downtown Colorado Springs intended to show maintenance work behind the county’s buildings. The description matters for residents because a centralized plant means a single boiler failure can require other units to ramp up, affecting heating reliability across multiple public facilities.

Josh said the plant’s boilers generate superheated steam so it “builds pressure” and flows naturally to multiple buildings. He described the scale by comparison: “your house has a 60,000-ish BTU furnace” versus the plant’s multiple 10,000,000-BTU boilers. Josh also said that if one unit shuts down the system sends an automated alarm and the remaining boilers would “ramp up and modulate at a much higher level.”

Staff emphasized safety and preventative maintenance. Josh pointed to an inducer motor whose bearings were failing and said the unit would be replaced; he added that an annual safety inspector must test internal components before a boiler is fired after maintenance. On that point he said, “every year, we have to have a safety inspector come out,” explaining the crew could not fire a boiler until the inspector completed tests.

Team members described operational impacts and risks: a shutdown triggers alarms and requires other units to increase output, and the shop monitors components closely to avoid equipment failure. Mike, the tour presenter, asked about temperature and work conditions; staff said indoor boiler-room temperatures can reach 120–130 degrees on hot days, underscoring physical demands on technicians.

This account represents descriptions and operational details provided by county facilities employees during the tour; no policy change or formal county action was proposed or voted on during the demonstration.