Criticism from the community was quick when Lake Olympia Middle School’s fire alarm was out on Oct. 2.

I got a couple of e-mails alerting me to the problem, counting the days that the campus had gone without a functioning alarm and accusing the Fort Bend school district of neglect.

I was told that the Missouri City fire marshal had to place the campus on fire watch. One sender charged school officials of having “not done due diligence and cannot guarantee our children's safety.”

Was this a legitimate concern or an overreaction?

I checked with the district at noon Monday on the situation.

Nancy Porter, a district spokeswoman, didn’t shun my questions.

The campus’ fire alarm system was damaged by lightning on Oct. 2, she said, and a contractor was sent to assess the problem and possible repairs.

Turns out the system was beyond fixing and a new system had to be ordered.

The district did notify the city’s fire marshal, who put the campus on fire watch.

“This means they were aware that the building was without an alarm and therefore were closely monitoring the building until a new system could be installed,” Porter said in an e-mail.

Here is the good news: the new alarm system was installed last week, Porter said.