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First Religious Society asks Newburyport for $117,000 to add fire protection to parish hall
Summary
The First Religious Society requested $117,000 to install/upgrade fire suppression and detection systems in its 1801 meeting house and 1877 parish hall, citing a lack of current sprinkler protection in the hall and chief of fire department support.
Representatives of the First Religious Society (FRS) asked the Community Preservation Committee for a $117,000 grant to bring obsolete fire-protection systems up to code and to add sprinklers to the parish hall, which presenters said currently has no suppression.
"This proposal will not only protect the FRS buildings but also the nearby buildings and businesses," Rebecca Bryan, identified as minister of the First Religious Society, quoted the fire chief as saying in support of the proposal. Bryan told the committee the parish hall presents a high risk and that upgrades are an urgent public-safety priority.
A congregant and head of the congregation's capital campaign, who identified himself to the committee, described past investments including roughly $900,000 to rebuild a steeple and other significant repairs, and said the congregation plans a capital campaign to raise additional funds alongside any city grant.
Committee members asked technical and preservation-related questions. Presenters said they had a fire-protection engineer involved and were coordinating an approach for integrating detection and sprinklers while respecting historic fabric. The committee did not take a final vote and scheduled the request for discussion during March 19 deliberations.
Members asked applicants to provide any required engineering scopes and notes on how the project would integrate with existing preservation restrictions.
