Summer Storm Season: Is Your Fire Alarm Monitoring Ready for the Next Power Outage?

Summer brings longer days, warmer weather, and unfortunately, some of the year’s most severe thunderstorms. High winds, lightning strikes, and heavy rain can lead to widespread power outages that impact homes, businesses, schools, and commercial buildings across Ontario. But, did you know that it may also come with a fire alarm monitoring power outage.

While most people think about flashlights and backup generators, one critical system is often overlooked: your fire alarm monitoring equipment.

If your building loses power, will your monitored fire alarm system continue to communicate with the monitoring station? More importantly, will it continue to do so for as long as it’s needed?

Storms Put Life Safety Systems to the Test

When severe weather rolls through, monitoring centres experience a significant increase in alarm activity. Commercial power failures, communication interruptions, lightning-related equipment damage, and alarm signals from multiple properties can all occur within a short period of time.

While professionally monitored systems are designed to continue operating during these events, they rely on one essential component that naturally degrades over time:

The backup battery.

Like the battery in your vehicle, the standby batteries inside your fire alarm control panel and communication equipment have a limited lifespan. As batteries age, their ability to power the system during an extended outage decreases.

A battery that appeared to be working yesterday may not provide enough runtime during the next major storm.

Why Annual Inspections Matter

Your fire alarm monitoring system isn’t designed to work only when commercial power is available. It must also operate when the unexpected happens.

During an annual inspection, qualified technicians can verify:

• The condition and capacity of backup batteries.
• That primary and backup communication paths are operating correctly.
• That communication equipment is functioning properly.
• That alarm signals are successfully transmitted to the monitoring station.
• That the overall monitoring system continues to meet applicable standards.

These inspections help identify issues before they become problems during an actual emergency.

ULC-S561 Requires Annual Inspection

Many building owners are surprised to learn that annual inspection of fire signal receiving and transmitting equipment isn’t simply considered good practice—it’s a requirement.

The CAN/ULC-S561 Standard for Installation and Services for Fire Signal Receiving Centres and Systems requires that fire alarm transmitting equipment be inspected and tested at least once every year to verify that it continues to operate as intended.

Annual inspections help confirm that:

• Monitoring equipment is functioning correctly.
• Backup communication methods remain operational.
• Standby power is capable of supporting the system during an outage.
• Alarm signals are reliably transmitted to the monitoring centre.

Staying current with these inspections helps support both compliance and the ongoing reliability of your life safety system.

Don’t Wait Until the Lights Go Out

Power outages don’t happen on a convenient schedule.

The best time to discover a weak battery or communication issue is during a scheduled inspection—not during a severe thunderstorm when your building depends on your monitoring system most.

If it’s been more than a year since your monitoring equipment was inspected, now is the ideal time to schedule service before peak storm season arrives.

Peace of Mind When It Matters Most

At Fire Monitoring of Canada (FMC), we know that reliable monitoring is about much more than receiving alarm signals. It’s about ensuring your system continues to protect people and property—even when the power goes out.

Annual inspections help verify that your monitoring equipment, backup batteries, and communication pathways are ready when you need them most.

Because when the next storm arrives, your fire alarm system should be the last thing you have to worry about.

Need to schedule your annual monitoring equipment inspection? Contact Fire Monitoring of Canada today and ensure your system is ready for whatever summer weather brings.