Fire Alarm Monitoring
Fire Alarm Monitoring has a clear role to play and is of growing importance for businesses across the UK. Fire and Rescue Services attended over 250,000 false alarms in the year ending December 2024.
Attending false alarms is a real strain on the fire and rescue services. Back in 2024, the London Fire Brigade issued a new policy stating that any activations from a monitored fire alarm system at commercial or workplace premises needs to be confirmed before the fire brigade will respond.
Fire Alarm Monitoring sees the alarms in your property connected to an Alarm Receiving Centre for 24/7 surveillance and monitoring which greatly helps reduce the chance of false alarms. ARM Secure have a wealth of experience monitoring alarms at commercial premises across the whole of the United Kingdom.
Read our helpful guide below to find out more about Fire Alarm Monitoring, and how we can help keep your property safe.
How Does Fire Alarm Monitoring Work?
The fire detection systems within your property are connected to a Alarm Receiving Centre for 24/7 coverage.
When an alarm is activated, a signal is passed to one of the trained operators who will verify the claim. If there is an emergency on site, the operator will contact the emergency services and stay with the incident until the emergency services arrive on site.
This means that an alarm should never go unheard, and there should be no need for late night calls to your designated keyholder to get them to site to verify the alarm.
What Are the Benefits of Fire Alarm Monitoring?
Fire Alarm Monitoring offers many benefits. It improves both safety on site and increases your peace of mind.
Firstly, the 24/7 surveillance offered by Alarm Receiving Centre’s ensures that alarms are responded to, day and night. This gives you the confidence that no matter when an incident occurs, you have trained professionals protecting you.
Nobody wants to suffer a fire emergency at their commercial premises. The damage, and the disruption to business, means that it can have huge financial implications. On average, a major fire incident in the UK results in a loss of over £650,000 per case!
An Alarm Receiving Centre can respond quickly to any alert, contacting the emergency services instantly to limit the damage to your premises.
Fire Alarm Monitoring will also reduce the risk to yourself or your staff. The responsibility of visiting site and verifying the alert is passed onto the team of fully trained operators who can safely and remotely handle the alert whilst keeping you always informed.
Is It A Legal Requirement?
No, having your fire detection systems monitored by an Alarm Receiving Centre is not a legal requirement. It is however strongly recommended by both insurers and leading industry organisations.
However, Fire Detection Systems are required for most businesses as part The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The Fire Safety Order 2005 says the following;
“the responsible person must ensure that— (a) the premises are, to the extent that it is appropriate, equipped with appropriate fire-fighting equipment and with fire detectors and alarms”
Therefore, whilst it is not a legal requirement to have Fire Alarm Monitoring in place, if you deem it appropriate to have additional security in place then it is a step that should be taken to protect your property.
What Type of Fire Alarms Can Be Monitored?
A full range of fire detection equipment can be monitored. This includes:
- Smoke Detectors
- Aspirating Smoke Detection Systems
- Heat Detectors
- Manual Call Points
The combined fire detection system of your property is directly synced to the Alarm Receiving Centre allowing the operators to monitoring your entire site.
How ARM Secure Can Help You
ARM Secure have our own NSI Gold Accredited Alarm Receiving Centre which operates 24/7, 365 days a year. We have decades of experience protecting commercial properties across the whole of the United Kingdom.
Our team of security experts are fully trained to effectively handle an alarm activation, verifying the alarm and then informing the emergency services in rapid time.
We also offer full nationwide coverage for our Keyholding & Alarm Response service. This means that we can hold keys for your property and dispatch trained personnel to your site so you and your staff are not placed in harm’s way.
Speak To ARM Secure Today
If you would like to find out more about ARM Secure’s Fire Alarm Monitoring services,
please get in touch on the form below.