We are thrilled to be able to offer fire alarm monitoring services through our partners at Fire Monitoring of Canada. However, we are often asked what exactly is fire alarm monitoring, and how does it work?
What Is Fire Alarm Monitoring?
It’s a common misconception that the fire alarm system is what notifies the fire department of an alarm at your building. In truth, the fire alarm system is solely designed to identify that there is a fire and alert the building occupants to get out. A fire alarm system is a very effective tool to achieve this, however it is not meant to let the fire department know about an activated alarm.
Without fire alarm monitoring, someone from the building must remember to call 9-1-1 to alert the fire department of the alarm. If no one is at the building or no one thinks to call 9-1-1, the fire department may not be able to respond until it’s too late. Through fire alarm monitoring, an activated fire alarm is relayed to an emergency Signals Receiving Centre (SRC), and their trained operators notify the correct fire department of the emergency.
How Does Fire Alarm Monitoring Work?
To provide fire alarm monitoring, we install a fire alarm monitoring panel within your building that is used to relay fire alarm signals to FMC’s ULC-Listed SRC. These signals are transmitted through any combination of cellular, IP, or other ULC approved method of signal transmission.
Your building’s alarm signals are received in the SRC in receivers, which are then handled by trained operators through an alarm monitoring software. Alarms are shown to the operators by displaying your building’s location and contact information, which is used to alert the appropriate fire department and building keyholders.
When the alarm has been received, dispatch operators contact the appropriate fire department and relay all your building’s information, which will be used to dispatch the fire trucks. As a ULC-Listed SRC, our operators must contact the fire department within 30 seconds of receipt of the alarm, and they are not permitted to verify a fire alarm before calling the fire department.
Learn More
To learn more about fire alarm monitoring, check out this informative video:
Contact Us
For 20 years, Bulldog Fire and Security has been an industry leader in fire alarm and security services, having designed, installed, and serviced a variety of systems across Southwestern, Ontario.
If you’re interested in learning more about fire alarm monitoring, call us a 1 866 670 1590, email info@bulldogsecurity.ca, or fill out the contact form below.