LIVERMORE — A new building alarm system has been installed at the Town Office.

A power surge on Nov. 25 damaged the system, requiring the replacement, Administrative Assistant Kurt Schaub said Wednesday.

A Seacoast Security representative estimated the cost would not exceed $600 and included an upgraded keypad and smoke detectors, he said.

The power in the area of the Town Office on Crash Road went out Nov. 24 during a storm. When the power was restored the next day, there was a power surge at the office, he said.

A house in the vicinity on Route 4 also caught fire Nov. 25 and the cause was attributed to the accidental power surge, fire Chief Don Castonguay said at the time.

Schaub said he discussed the matter with selectpersons Monday night, and it was agreed he would look into the cost of an automatic backup generator for the Town Office/Fire Station for consideration in the 2014-15 budget.

The Town Office had to be closed because the emergency generator only runs some lights, but does not run the well pump or computers. The generator restored the heat to keep the pipes from freezing.

Schaub credited Castonguay for making sure the pipes didn’t burst and other problems did not occur during the outage.

dperry@sunjournal.com