comment on Central Station verses Municipal reporting

(and other useful observations) 

May 24, 2012

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comment
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Ken,

I'd like to respond to Kevin Lehan [ Executive Director IESA Illinois Electronic Security Association].

I read your articles and have attended your presentations. In the words of my Grandfather who was the country’s top construction attorney working for Bethlehem Steel presiding over the building of the Empire State and GW Bridge and as a judge.

“Business is a world of contracts which confirm all agreements verbal or otherwise”.

This is your world and you are excellent at it. My father worked in the world of fire alarm and systems for 20 years before me and I have been doing this for 40 years.

Originally alarms were transmitted directly to the Police or Fire Stations by a telegrapher/ watchman on site. Fire Alarms developed further with an automatic telegrapher, the Coded Master Box. In the 1980’s a manufacturer I worked for pushed thru the UL acceptance of a dialer to report Fire Alarm because the client requesting it was General Motors.

Today with efficient management, deregulation of the phone company and advance electronics, the Central Station industry has provided security in particular and Fire Alarm monitoring as a recent add on over recent years. Ken Kirschenbaum’s contracts provide a blueprint for independent businessmen to legally navigate thru this industry’s minefield.

So in my recent history digital dialer’s and Central Stations have been added to the scenarios for monitoring Fire Alarms which had previously been reported directly by direct wire to the Fire Departments.

I am going to be very clear on this. No one technology or provider solution should be required in a changing world as monopolies bring gouging of the public’s interest. However some Central Stations are good and some are not and the same is true with Municipalities. I personally was in involved with the Conviction of State Fire Marshalls in several states where ARSON for hire was very lucrative. The Insurance companies stopped an epidemic of arson fires chronicled in the book “Money to Burn”. In some areas Security Protection of a jewelry Store and private guards by a Central station is the only solution as it is with private homes.

I have stop watched several methodologies of alarm reporting as time is critical in Fire and Security. My particular interest is Fire –EMT Life Safety. I will confirm what Mr. Sargent wrote and will specifically state that ADT took more than 20 minutes to respond to a real fire in Quincy , MA and subsequent tests confirmed their inability to respond within NFPA guidelines in the City that has NFPA headquarters. However Wayne Alarms of Lynn, MA a UL/FM central station responded in less than 1 minute on both dialer and mesh network radio tests which is within NFPA guidelines. Normally responsible central stations correct their defects immediately when this is pointed out.

Keltron has placed several Mesh Network radio systems throughout the country for private and public use . Some Municipalities in Illinois using the Keltron system are serviced and well maintained by ADT. The “Keltron” equipped Municipality I tested recently had a point of alarm to Fire station reception of 15 seconds which is similar to the excellently maintained Wayne Alarm’s mesh radio response for private monitoring. The municipalities have the authority to inspect and condemn building occupancy if the Fire Systems are not maintained insuring the lives of the occupants. The Central Stations do not have or want to take on that responsibility. Often the Central Stations will shut off the account for non-payment which can leave a tenement of families unprotected. Our prosecution of the State Fire Marshall in Massachusetts for negligent Arson Homicide was where the connection had been intentionally disrupted prior to a deadly arson fire.

Ultimately Fire Departments are held responsible for their inability to save lives often due to a lack of sufficient time to intercept the growing fire. The individual Fire Departments have the responsibility to assess their individual requirements for detection, response and mitigation of their town’s life safety events. The IMSA Journal is well respected for municipal signaling , see page 18 of the IMSA journal Issue May-June 2012.

In my 40 years’ experience ,I believe we should hold all parties accountable for their respective responsibilities including Municipalities, Fire officials, inspectors, Central Station companies and installation companies. I have done this in my professional career. Know your ethical and business responsibilities and limitations. Today town and city Fire inspectors are increasing trained, certified and professional. Their decisions on life safety reporting responses rests on their shoulders as they have to live with the consequences.

Blair Ames

Montgomery-Ames