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Fire Alarm System Monitoring
A common question asked is: “Are fire alarm systems required to be monitored by an off-site monitoring company?” The answer is both yes and no. The Indiana Fire Code does not mandate off-site monitoring of stand alone fire alarm systems; however, some cities and towns have local ordinances mandating off-site monitoring of all fire alarm systems, so it is important to check your local area requirements.
If your building has a fire sprinkler system, however, it is required to be monitored by an approved central, remote or proprietary monitoring station per Section 903.4.1 of the Indiana Fire Code, 2008 Edition, regardless of the system size. If your building has both a fire sprinkler system and a fire alarm system, the fire alarm will be monitored by default because it must interconnect with the fire sprinkler system.
Regardless of whether or not monitoring is “technically” required, it is still a very good idea. If a system is not monitored and a fire occurs outside of normal business hours, the early detection provided by the alarm serves no benefit because the fire department will not be notified automatically. In addition, fire alarm systems that are not monitored require more frequent inspection and testing in accordance with the requirements set forth in NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code, in this case quarterly as opposed to annually for a monitored system.
So now you know you have to be monitored by an off-site monitoring company, which one do you choose? There are many monitoring companies, and just like anything else, some companies are better than others. NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code, defines in detail the differences between central, remote and proprietary monitoring services. The choice that affords the highest level of protection and reliability is a listed central station alarm monitoring service.
The term “listed” means that equipment, materials or services are included in a published list by an organization that is concerned with evaluation of products and services. The organization periodically evaluates the services and states whether or not the service meets the appropriate designated standards. Two of the most common listing agencies are Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) and FM Global (FM).
In order to be a “listed” central station, the monitoring agency must meet stringent requirements pertaining to the physical facility, equipment, service procedures, and testing. The monitoring facility must also meet requirements for building construction, physical protection, fire protection, standby lighting and emergency power supply, in addition to requirements for recording of alarm, trouble, and supervisory signal received by the monitoring agency and the quantity of personnel on duty at all times.
Although the use of a listed central station monitoring service is not mandated in Indiana, the use some type of monitoring service in many cases may be. When evaluating monitoring services it is important to remember that not all are required to meet the same parameters and using a listed central station monitoring service means evaluation by a third party to ensure a high level of protection and reliability.
USAutomatic Sprinkler Corporation partners with CMS (Criticom Monitoring Services). CMS is a UL Listed and FM Approved central station monitoring service with four monitoring centers nationwide. For more information on CMS, click here to contact us or visit the CMS website at www.criticominternational.com.
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