Fire Alarm Monitoring

What do fire sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems, fire pumps, and clean agent suppression systems all have in common? They are typically monitored by a 24-hour central monitoring station in case of activation. Once there is an activation that occurs on the system the central monitoring station will notify the local fire department, building owner or Management Company, and/or any other responsible person on record who needs to know that an activation has occurred. Early notification within minutes of activation of a system could save property owners/tenants substantial costs and notify the proper authorities.

 

You might be wondering why you need to monitor these systems in the first place. Early notification to the fire department about a smoke detector activation (which could indicate a possible fire is occurring in a building), or notification to the building owner or manager that a fire pump has turned has turned on (indicating a possible problem on a property) are important to the general safety and awareness of certain potential hazards at your properties. For example, consider the consequences of one fire sprinkler head that discharges prematurely (pumping out 25 - 125 gallons of water per minute) running for several hours before someone notices the water running out of the building. There could hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of water damage by the time the water is turned off, the damage could be minimized in this scenario if there is a central monitoring station that can notify the appropriate parties (Fire Department, Building Owner, etc.) that there is an activation of this type going on at the building shortly after it occurs. 

It is also required by code for certain types of systems. Like any other mechanical or electrical system, they will slowly break down to where they will eventually stop functioning. The overall monitoring systems need to be tested at regular intervals to verify that the system components are functioning properly, i.e. the monitoring panel is sending signals ("dialing out") to the central monitoring station, the telephone lines are operational at the panel, and that the 24-hour monitoring station is actually receiving the appropriate signals. Unfortunately, many property owners/tenants pay for the service to monitor their system but never test the monitoring system devices to see if they are functioning properly. During a real emergency is not the time to find out the monitoring system failed!