A local zoo in Springfield is getting a new tool to increase animal safety thanks to a gift from Northeast Security Solutions. This donation to The Zoo in Forest Park is a temperature detection system that will be installed this Friday, February 13th, 2015.

The parts and the labor are being donated in the wake of a recent WGGB news story reporting that “two monkeys died after a circuit breaker tripped, causing the power to go out and the heat to go off.” Many of NSS’s staff members have pets and love animals. Naturally, we were saddened by the loss. We reached out to the zoo to offer our assistance and move the installation process forward.

Northeast Security Solutions frequently installs temperature detection as part of residential and commercial burglar alarm systems. This equipment notifies someone if a heating system fails before water pipes are in danger of bursting. We are installing a similar system to monitor the temperature in the animals’ living quarters.

The system will have an Interlogix Concord 4 Control Panel and two Honeywell Dual Temperature Sensors. These sensors will be programmed with a low temperature limit and a high temperature limit that zoo staff will set based what temperatures are safe for animals. If the temperature is ever out of the “safe zone”, the system will send a signal to our central station operators who will then contact the staff at the zoo. The control panel will transmit a wireless signal through the use of an Alarm.com brand GSM module.

“The community has been nothing but supportive during this sad time,” said Darlene Blaney, Business Manager for The Zoo in Forest Park when asked to comment.  “We are incredibly grateful for our neighbors and how they have stepped up and offered to help.”

This donation to the Zoo in Forest Park, along with a gift of a new automatic standby generator by Christopher Robare of Alternative Generator, will help prevent similar incidents in the future.

Read various news stories about the donation here:

WWLP
MassLive
CBS3 Springfield