REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 23, 2026
FROM
MOE YOUSIF, Interim Director, Project and Facilities Management Department
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Bernel, Inc. dba VFS Fire & Security Services for Fire-Life Safety Systems Maintenance and Repair Services
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Approve Contract with Bernel, Inc. dba VFS Fire & Security Services, including non-standard terms, to provide monitoring, system testing, maintenance, and repair services for the Fire-Life Safety systems at 80 County-owned locations, in an amount not to exceed $2,143,560, for the period of July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031.
(Presenter: Moe Yousif, Interim Director, 387-5000)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total cost of the five-year contract with Bernel, Inc. dba VFS Fire & Security Services (VFS) is $2,143,560, which includes a base amount of $1,393,560 for monitoring, testing and maintenance, and a not to exceed amount of $750,000 for unforeseen repairs. The annual contract costs are as follows:
|
Fiscal Year |
Annual Cost |
|
2026-27 |
$278,712 |
|
2027-28 |
$278,712 |
|
2028-29 |
$278,712 |
|
2029-30 |
$278,712 |
|
2030-31 |
$278,712 |
|
Unforeseen Repairs |
$750,000 |
|
Total |
$2,143,560 |
Payments for the contract will be made from the Project and Facilities Management Department (PFMD) budget (7302001000). Sufficient appropriation is available in the 2026-27 PFMD budget and adequate appropriation will be included in future recommended budgets.
The costs associated with the contract award will be fully recovered through maintenance charges allocated to County departments based on the established average cost per square foot. For facilities that are not assessed maintenance on a per square foot basis, costs will be billed directly to the occupying departments through the requisition process.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
San Bernardino County is responsible for providing the monitoring, system testing, and maintenance of the Fire-Life Safety systems (including fire alarm and sprinkler systems) at multiple County locations for the safety and protection of life and property.
The recommended action will provide for the monitoring, testing, maintenance, and repairs for fire-life safety systems at 80 County-owned buildings. These are critically important services required by the County. With regard to fire alarm equipment or related services, the County will be relying principally on its own insurance coverage for protection.
The contract between VFS and the County uses the County’s standard contract and includes as Attachment B, the VFS Fire Alarm Monitoring, Testing/Inspection and Service Agreement, which is VFS’s standard commercial contract . The VFS standard contract terms take precedence over the County’s standard terms to the extent that there is a conflict between the provisions. Due to the addition of the VFS standard contract terms, the Agreement includes terms that differ from the standard County contract and omits certain County standard contract terms. While the parties negotiated certain contract terms to County standards, VFS would not agree to all County standard terms. The non-standard and missing terms include the following:
1. VFS disclaims all liability resulting from equipment failure, human error, fire, smoke, water or any other cause, including the negligence of a VFS subcontractor. This disclaimer of liability does not apply to VFS’s sole negligence, willful misconduct, or damage caused by VFS employees while working on County property to the extent the damages are covered by VFS’s liability insurance. For claims in which the complete disclaimer of liability does not apply, VFS limits its liability to the County to $150,000. This limitation of liability does not apply to VFS’s indemnity obligations, gross negligence, willful misconduct, and violations of law.
• The County standard contract does not include a limitation of liability.
• Potential Impact: Claims could exceed the liability cap and the Agreement amount leaving the County financially liable for the excess.
2. The County shall not solicit or employ VFS’s personnel assigned to perform any services for or on behalf of the County for a period of two years after VFS has completed all services under the Agreement.
• The County standard contract does not include a non-solicitation/non-compete provision.
• Potential Impact: The County is prohibited from hiring any employee of VFS assigned to perform any services for the County for a period of two years from completion of all services under the Agreement. If the County hires a VFS employee, it may owe damages to VFS in an amount equal to the employee's salary based upon the average three months preceding the employee's termination of employment with VFS, times twelve, plus attorneys’ fees and expert witness fees.
3. The Agreement does not include certain standard County insurance requirements. VFS agrees to comply with some of the County’s standard insurance requirements; however, coverage is only available for claims relating to personal or property damage caused by VFS while working on County property. Regarding the fire alarm equipment and related services, the Agreement requires the County to waive its right of subrogation against VFS and/or its subcontractors, and to look to its own insurance only for damages arising from failure of the fire alarm equipment, system or related services.
• The County standard contract requires contractors to carry appropriate insurance at limits and under conditions determined by the County’s Risk Management Department.
• Potential Impact: Limiting the applicability of insurance coverages could result in expenses that exceed the total Agreement amount. For any claims or damage resulting from a failure of fire alarm equipment, system or related services, the County will need to look at its own insurance.
PFMD has evaluated the operational need for these services and determined that approval of the Agreement is in the County’s best interest despite the non-standard provisions. The fire-life safety monitoring, testing, maintenance, and repair services provided under this Agreement are critical to maintaining regulatory compliance and protecting County facilities and occupants. VFS was selected through a competitive procurement process and was determined to best meet the County’s operational requirements. PFMD recommends approval of the Agreement because the benefits of securing these essential services outweigh the risks associated with the non-standard contract provisions.
PROCUREMENT
In March 2026, PFMD issued a Request for Proposal (RFP FMD126-FM-6254) for Fire-Life Safety System monitoring, testing, maintenance and repair services, which was posted on the San Bernardino County Electronic Procurement Network (ePro). Mandatory job walks were completed on April 7-9, 2026. Five contractors attended the job walks and PFMD subsequently received the following four proposals:
|
Vendor |
Annual Cost |
Location |
|
Bernel, Inc., dba VFS Fire & Security Services |
$278,717 |
Orange |
|
Rapid Fire Safety & Security LLC |
$459,524 |
Riverside |
|
Johnson Controls Fire Protection |
$244,707 |
Rancho Cucamonga |
|
Western States Fire Protection Co. |
$295,116 |
Lakewood |
An evaluation committee composed of three staff from PFMD reviewed the proposals received. The proposals were evaluated based on qualifications and experience, technical specifications, cost, and references. Based on the evaluation criteria, the evaluation panel determined that VFS best met the needs of the County. Award and denial letter were sent on May 28, 2026. No protests were received.
The Purchasing Department supports this competitive procurement based on the formal solicitation described above.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Kaleigh Ragon, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 26, 2026; Risk Management (Noel Cantrell, Administrative Supervisor, 386-8890) on June 10, 2026; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on June 1, 2026; Project and Facilities Management (Jennifer Costa, Chief of Facilities Management, 387-2920) on June 1, 2026; and County Finance and Administration (Eduardo Mora, Administrative Analyst, 387-4376) on June 4, 2026.