Request for Proposals – Breathing Air Compressor

Bid Instructions

• Bid opening will be on March 23, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. at the Administrative Offices, 223 Henry Ave., Manchester, MO 63011.
• The Fire District reserves the right to accept and/or reject any and all bids. Furthermore, after review and consideration of the bids received, the Fire District will proceed with the best, qualified bid, which may not be the lowest bid submitted.
• The Fire District hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises (MBE) and distressed business enteprises (DBE) will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, creed, color, gender, gender expression, age, disability, sex, national origin or military status in consideration for an award.
• Bid results may be obtained by emailing such request to dfrazier@westcounty-fire.org. No phone calls please. The time it takes for final bid results to be made public depends on the complexity of the project, District examination of bids, and related information about the project.

Bid Inquiries

Any questions or clarifications concerning this Bid must be received no later than 1:00 p.m. on March 18, 2026 via e-mail submission to: Chief Financial Officer Dave Frazier Jr. at dfrazier@westcounty-fire.org. Any questions received after this deadline may not be answered.

All bid submissions will be followed up with a confirmation email. If you do not receive confirmation within 24 hours, please contact Chief Financial Officer Dave Frazier via the email above.

Terms and Conditions

• The Fire District reserves the right to reject any and all bids or parts of a bid and waive technicalities, and to adjust quantities.
• All bids will be considered final. No additions, deletions, corrections, or adjustments will be accepted after the time of bid opening.
• All delivery costs or charges must be included in the F.O.B. destination bid price.
• City, County and State of Missouri Sales Tax and Federal Taxes are not applicable to sales made to the Fire District and must be excluded.
• The contract shall be effective for the approximate time it takes to complete and/or fulfill the scope and intention of the proposal.
• Vendors are required to clearly identify any deviations from the specifications in this submission.
• Proposals received after the designated time will be considered as “No Bid” and “Void” and will not be opened.
• All bidders must possess the current and appropriate business and/or professional licenses in their field.
• Award will be made to the best responsive, responsible bidder, or to the offeror whose proposal is most advantageous to the Fire District; price and other factors considered including geographic location, as applicable.
• The Fire District reserves the right to accept any item or group of items offered, unless the bidder qualifies their bid by specific limitations. The bid may be on an "all or nothing" basis if wording in the bid so states and if the items solicited are included in the bid.
• When applicable, provide unit prices and extension prices. Where there is disagreement in the unit and extension prices, the unit price shall govern.
• If applicable to this bid, the Contractor must comply with all provisions of the current Prevailing Wage Law that’s in effect. Certified payroll shall be submitted with request for payment.

Insurance

• The successful bidder must agree to provide and maintain during the life of the Contract the insurance(s) listed below, in the minimum amounts specified, with an insurance company licensed to do business in the State of Missouri. All policies must name the Fire District as an additional insured and provide for thirty (30) days written notice prior to any material changes or cancellation.
• Workers Compensation: Statutory limits as required by the statutes of the State of Missouri and Employer’s Liability with limits no less than $500,000.
• Comprehensive General Liability (including automobile): Limits of no less than $1,000,000/3,000,000/1,000,000 per occurrence or $3,000,000 CSL.

Open Records

Any and all information contained in or submitted with the bid becomes a public record subject to the Missouri Sunshine Law when the bids are opened. If the bidder believes that any information contained in or submitted with the bid is protected from disclosure by the Missouri Sunshine Law, the bidder must clearly identify what information the bidder believes is so protected and must also clearly identify the legal basis therefor.

Bid Specifications

The West County EMS and Fire Protection District is seeking bids for a Breathing Air Compressor at Fire Station #1 at 223 Henry Avenue, Manchester, MO 63011.

Specifications:

Compressor: The compressor block shall be four stage, air cooled, pressure oil lubricated of "V" configuration and rated for continuous duty at 6000 psig with a charging rate of 14.0 cfm. The crankcase shall be of all cast iron construction, fully enclosed and support an iron crankshaft with oversized ball bearings on each end. Only two connecting rods shall be utilized. Each connecting rod shall be equipped with needle bearings on each end for long life. All pistons shall be of the captive design, manufactured of aluminum or steel and incorporate rings on all stages. Cylinders shall be of aluminum or cast iron construction with deep cooling fins to provide maximum heat dissipation. The compressor flywheel shall incorporate a high velocity fan to remove heat from the compressor. Cooling air flow from the fan shall be a minimum of 3000 cfm. Individually mounted intercoolers shall be utilized after each stage of compression and the aftercooler shall be designed to deliver final air at a temperature not to exceed 18 degrees F above ambient. Suction and delivery valves shall be designed in such a manner that they can be replaced without replacing the entire assembly. Valve inspection covers are to be provided on the first and second stage cylinders. Relief valves shall be utilized after each stage of compression. The pressure lubrication system shall include an oil pump to supply metered quantities of lubricant directly to the fourth stage piston through a regulator and replaceable spin-off type, full flow filter. The oil pump shall be directly driven off of the crankshaft. Belt driven pumps shall not be acceptable. An oil level sight glass shall be provided for checking the crankcase oil level. The compressor system shall have a moisture separator after every stage of compression. An automatic drain system shall be supplied to periodically discharge accumulated condensation from each moisture separator during operation and whenever the unit shuts down. Compressor systems requiring cool down or (unloaded running periods) and those that require auxiliary cooling fans are not acceptable. The compressor system must be rated for continuous operation with no intermittent duty cycles. The compressor manufacturer shall have an ISO 9001 quality management system standard approval on the design and manufacture process.

Compressor Enclosure: The breathing air module shall be fully enclosed with solid steel panels, minimum thickness 14 gauge. All sections of the compressor enclosure shall be lined with sound absorbing material. An air ducting system that allows against-the-wall installation by drawing cooling air from below the unit and directing it upwards and away from the operator and control panel shall be provided. Insulated and gasketed maintenance access doors equipped with quarter turn latches shall be located on both sides and in front of the compressor system. These latches shall be designed to draw the access doors into the frame opening. Male-female hinges on side doors shall be used to allow their fast and easy removal without requiring hand tools. The underside of the cabinet shall be grated to prevent debris from entering the compressor compartment.

Auto Drain Muffler/Reservoir: An automatic drain muffler/reservoir system, manufactured of 14 gauge steel, shall be incorporated into the package. The reservoir shall be designed to capture discharged condensation without the need for piping to the outside and to reduce the discharge noise level. A conveniently located valve shall be supplied on the outside of the cabinet to periodically drain the condensate accumulated in the muffler/reservoir at atmospheric pressure.

Electric Motor: NEMA designed B, 2-pole, 10 horsepower, open drip proof motor shall be furnished for 3 phase, 60 hertz, 230 volts. The motor shall be suspended underneath the compressor baseplate. This baseplate shall incorporate rubber shock mounts, which isolates vibration from the rest of the cabinet. The V-belt drive shall be guarded to meet OSHA requirements.

Purification System: The purification system and replacement filter cartridges shall be manufactured by the same company as the compressor package. The system shall be a multi-chamber arrangement each constructed of 7075T6 aluminum alloy with a tensile strength of 83,000 psi and designed for 6000 psi working pressure with a 4 to 1 safety factor. The first chamber shall be a mechanical separator to eliminate oil and water. Subsequent chambers shall utilize replaceable filter cartridges constructed of high strength, non-corrosive FDA grade polycarbonate plastic. The cartridges shall be designed to remove water vapor, hydrocarbons, noxious gases, taste and odors. Systems requiring depressurization to check filter condition shall not be acceptable. Carbon monoxide shall also be eliminated by catalytic oxidation. The purification system shall process 34,200 cf (with a 70o F inlet temperature) before cartridge replacement. The air delivered shall meet CGA grade D & E and NFPA 1989 (2019 edition) air quality standards.

Control System: The unit shall include all necessary controls to assure efficient operation and monitor compressor performance. All necessary electric motor controls shall also be included and rated for NEMA class 12. As a minimum, the control system shall include the following:

Instrumentation: The unit shall include all necessary gauges and lights necessary to indicate all normal and shutdown conditions. All gauges, lights and indicators shall be mounted on a steel control panel centrally located on the front of the unit and also within the cabinet. The instrumentation panels shall include the following:

Overtime timer: The PLC controller on the compressor is equipped with an overtime timer feature which can be set from 0 to 10 hours. This feature can prevent the compressor from running for extended periods of time when unsupervised. The overtime timer is factory set for 4 hours.

Separator cycle counter: The PLC controller on the compressor is equipped with a cycle counter that will log every time the final separator is depressurized.

Carbon monoxide monitoring system: The CO monitor shall be mounted on the compressor operations panel.

All necessary applicable electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work shall be included in the bid and performed to the appropriate code by a licensed professional.

Any exclusions or deviations claimed by Contractor (if any) must be explained on the Exception Sheet.

Exception Sheet

If the item(s) and/or services proposed in the response to this bid is in any way different from that contained in this proposal or bid, the bidder is responsible to clearly identify all such differences in the space provided below. Otherwise, it will be assumed that the bidder’s offer is in total compliance with all aspects of the proposal or bid.

References

Please provide a reference for similar work performed within the past two (2) years.

Bidder Information

Bid Submission

All bid submissions will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive confirmation of your bid submission within 24 hours, please contact Chief Financial Officer Dave Frazier at dfrazier@westcounty-fire.org .