To protect your property and assets from potentially damaging fires, commercial fire alarm monitoring services are essential. The type of fire alarm system you have will influence what type of fire alarm monitoring you need to get.

Commercial fire alarm systems are designed to detect smoke, heat, fire, and other indicators of an impending fire emergency in your business establishment.

A fire can get going in mere seconds. It can engulf a building instantly, that’s why every second count. The better your commercial fire alarm monitoring services, the more excellent protection it can give you.

These commercial fire alarm monitoring options can alert you immediately, allowing you to take the necessary steps to control and kill the fire.

Choosing a Fire Alarm System

Before we explore commercial fire alarm monitoring options, let’s first take a look at the different types of fire alarm systems. Choosing the right one will depend on your answers to the following questions:

  • What is the size of your commercial building?
  • Where is the location of your commercial building?
  • What business or industry are you in?
  • What type of service do you provide?
  • What level of service or coverage do you desire?

Types of Fire Alarm Systems

Automatic and Manual

Manual fire alarm system

These are the two basic types of fire alarm systems.

Manual fire alarm systems, as the name suggests, require human intervention to get physically activated. These interventions come in the form of manually pulling stations or levers in crucial locations.

On the other hand, automatic fire alarm systems trigger the alarm and send a notification to commercial fire alarm monitoring services provider as soon as a threat is detected. The monitoring service will then notify the proper local authorities for the next steps to take.

Conventional Fire Alarm Systems

Commercial fire alarm monitoring services providers also monitor conventional systems. This type of system can be automatic or manual. It’s segmented into sections, areas, or zones within the building. Each zone gets assigned a fire alarm. This fire alarm is connected to the central control panel.

Addressable Fire Alarm Systems

Similar to conventional fire alarm systems, the addressable counterpart also assigns a fire alarm for each zone of a commercial building. This fire alarm links back to the central control panel. However, the difference between the two systems is with an addressable one, you can determine which fire alarm was triggered. This allows you to send first responders to the correct zone.

Extra Options

There are multiple additional features you can incorporate when getting a new fire alarm system installation for your commercial building. Some of these expanded options are:

Sprinkler systems are an expanded option in fire alarm systems
  • Fire sprinkler systems – these systems can immediately and automatically dispense chemical fire retardant agents or water when a fire is present or detected.
  • Containment systems – these systems have the ability to lock down and isolate an affected zone to stop the spread of fire.
  • Ventilation – this takes out or reduce fumes and smoke to help in evacuation efforts of building occupants.

Types of Commercial Fire Alarm Monitoring Services

Wired (Landline)

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 72) National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code define the official guidelines for fire alarm signaling. Up until the 2010 revision, commercial establishment owners and managers had to procure two analog phones; one of the two should be the fire alarm communicator or dialer, or DACT.

The phones must report to commercial fire alarm monitoring services center at least once every 24 hours. The two phone lines assured that should one of them experiences an issue, and there’s always going to be a backup.

Wireless (Cellular)

The 2013 NFPA 72 revision permits cellular technology to handle commercial fire alarm monitoring. A minimum of one-hour supervision is required to foresee any communicator issues. These allows monitoring center personnel to plan their monitoring activities and adapt as needed or depending on what the situation needs.

Final Thoughts

Fires can be a devastating blow to your business operations. While you can take the necessary steps to rebuild after a fire, in most cases, it’s hopeless to recuperate all the losses. On top of that, there’s the emotional traumas that you have to deal with.

With 24-hour commercial fire alarm monitoring, you further advance and strengthen your fire protection and safety efforts. Work with a reliable commercial fire alarm monitoring services provider.