What Is Fire Alarm Monitoring?

June 21, 2022 | By: mm-admin

Have you ever wondered how the fire department knows there’s an alarm going off in your building? What is fire alarm monitoring? Let’s us show you:

The fire alarm in your building serves one purpose: to recognize a fire and notify people in the building to “get out.” While a fire alarm system excels at its primary function, it is not designed to inform the fire department that an alarm has been activated.

This is where Fire Monitoring of Canada comes in.  Without FMC or companies such as FMC, the fire department won’t know the alarm is sounding unless someone from the building remembers to call 9-1-1.  If no one is at the building, the fire department may never know until it’s too late.

How Does Fire Alarm Monitoring Work?

FMC installs a separate piece of equipment in your building to relay alarm information to our ULC-listed Signals Receiving Centre.  These signals are relayed through any combination of phone line, cellular, IP, or other ULC- approved methods of communication.

Our Signals Receiving Centre receives the alarm signals in receivers, which our operators handle through our alarm monitoring automation software. The operators receive alarms along with your building’s information. They use this information to dispatch the fire department and notify the building’s keyholders.

Upon receiving the alarm, FMC will call the appropriate fire department, verbally relaying the alarm and building information to the fire department dispatcher. They will then dispatch the trucks to your location. As per ULC standards, FMC has 30 seconds to notify the fire department of the alarm, and cannot verify the alarm prior to notifying the fire department.

Contact Us

fire monitoring of canada logoAt FMC, our goal is to reduce response times and ensure the prompt notification of first responders. If you have more questions about how fire alarm monitoring works, do not hesitate to contact us.

Fire Monitoring of Canada has been a leader in fire monitoring and security monitoring industry for over 30 years.  Trust the experts and give your property the protection it deserves.  Call us at 1 866 789 FIRE (3473), email fminfo@fire-monitoring.com, or fill out the contact form below for more information.