Installation of a new $500,000 fire detection system in the Holmes Student Center will not endanger those who use the building daily, student center director Judd Baker said.

The new system is required to meet upgraded fire safety codes. Student center smoke detectors were installed in 1962, and while it was the “cadillac of fire detection” then, it no longer does the trick, Baker said.

Plans for a new design are underway. A consulting firm from Bloomington, Ill., Buchanan and Bellows and Associates, are expected to complete the plan by mid-November.

The new smoke and heat detection system will be more oriented to the needs of the disabled, project coordinator Forrest Struthers said. Emergency fire alarm pull handles will be installed within reach of wheelchair users. The fire alarm handles are currently positioned approximately five feet from the floor.

The new smoke detectors will have both visual and audio alarms, Struthers said. An elevator call system, as well as a call system in the stairwells for firefighters are also required under the new fire safety codes.

Installation of the new system is expected to get underway during spring semester. During that time, a parallel operating system will make sure that the safety of those who work in the student center is secured.

The system will be installed one zone at a time, with each zone switching over only after the system is fully installed.

Baker said there is no danger with the alarm system now, although there is a problem in resetting the system once the alarm has gone off.