Anubis Systems Technologies

MONITORING YOUR ALARM SYSTEM

An Alarm system is only as good as the phone line it's attached to. Let's face it. In this modern world, we hear a lot of sirens. Car alarms, police, and other emergency vehicles inundate us with a whole host of weird and very loud sounds. They're designed to catch our attention, but we've also become rather innured to hearing them. How may of us have heard a car alarm in a parking lot, and NEVER looked? They are so common-place these days, that even the manufacturers are taking a different route to address the problem. The advent of engine "immobilizers" has become the single best response to the problem posed by the public's complacency. No one really pays attention to a siren and unless your alarm system is capable of transmitting an alarm signal to someone that is ready to initiate an appropriate response, it simply doesn't matter how much money you "throw at your system", NO ONE is going to hear it.

In North America, there are a large number of companies that offer services from simple monitoring to what's termed "runner" dispatch. Let's look at the types of services being offered today:

EMERGENCY MONITORING: The "basic" package allows for monitoring personnel to respond to a variety of alarm conditions that your panel is capable of transmitting. These can range from intrusions, to fire, to flooding, to detection of carbon monoxide. The list is almost endless. Your alarm provider should be able to offer all of these services. A word of caution however: Some providers charge extra for each and every monitored signal they receive over and above a basic "package". Check with your provider.

RUNNER RESPONSE: The perfect compliment to the basic Emergency Monitoring package, and the best way of addressing the high cost of false alarms. In some city jurisdictions, police response to premises that do not have physical signs of break-in is considered a "false alarm", and often carries with it a City Bylaw "ticket" or a Fine. A "runner" is a trained security guard that is dispatched to the premises in alarm, and will perform what's called a "perimeter check". This entails a thorough physical inspection of the perimeter of the premises. If anything unusual is noted, the guard will contact the local Police, and the monitoring station who will in turn start calling the keyholders/owners of the building.

GUARD RESPONSE: A step above "runner" service, most responding guards have access to the premises, a code to the security system to disarm it, and the means by which a more thorough check of the premises can be accomplised. As they are physically on site, they would be able to remain behind in the event a window has been broken, contact the owners/keyholders, make appropriate arrangements to temporarily repair or shore up any damage, clear the premises, and re-arm the alarm system.

What do you look for in a monitoring station? First off, the representative to whom you're talking with should be able to assure you that the station complies with one (or more) of the following:

• FM (Factory Mutual)
• UL (Underwriters Laboratories) (USA)
• ULC (Underwriters Laboratories of Canada)
• Government (Provincial or State) Licencing