KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Subscriber owned Fire Alarm alarm co owned DACT / Party invite
November 24, 2025
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Subscriber owned Fire Alarm alarm co owned DACT
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Ken
While extremely rare for us, if we terminate a contract (end of term or other reason and do not want to continue or renew),
sometimes our options are:
Remove the DACT [Digital Alarm Communicator Transmitter] from the panel or system:
a. should we leave system in trouble?
b. also delete from program so panel does not show DACT trouble?
If we elect to leave the DACT and can collect it's agreed value:
c. delete programming and leave system in trouble?
d. delete programming and leave system normal?
Of course the AHJ must be notified.
In NYC the central office will send notice to the FDNY and terminate the TB60 assignment,
e. Is this sufficient notification to the AHJ?
f. Should we also send notification, about 30 days ahead of time, to FDNY's Fire Alarm Unit?
My thought is to remove the DACT or get paid for it, deprogram but leave system in trouble, communications / DACT issue. Is this the best thing to do legally and liability wise? Makes it obvious that there is NO central monitoring however creates a trouble that would not be there if panel is otherwise normal.
Thank you
Jeff
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Response
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My response is primarily a contractual obligation one, and perhaps limited experience with NRTL and fire department requirements, but those, especially the fire department, vary greatly around jurisdictions. Removing the DACT makes monitoring impossible, but the rest of the fire alarm should not be affected. As I understand it, fire alarms are not turned on or off, they are always on. Removing the DACT should affect only the monitoring of the fire alarm, not the local operation. You're the fire alarm expert, so I have to pose these questions to you, and other experts of course:
1. Can the fire alarm continue to operate locally without the DACT?
2. Can you leave a message, "no monitoring" on the panel, but leave the system otherwise operational?
3. If you can't change the panel reading and it will read Trouble, will it still be working locally? By locally I mean that if the system detects a fire the siren or bell will go off. Also if there are other systems attached to the fire alarm they will activate too, such as doors opening or closing, etc.
In New York City, the most regulated for fire alarms that I am aware of, terminating the TB Assignment will terminate the account, but I am not sure the Fire Marshal is notified of the termination. You should have a relationship with the Fire Marshal or at least the Fire Marshal office, and you should ask them and then comply with their request. You may have to ask a few times to see if you get consistent answers.
A subscriber owned fire alarm should not be turned off just because you are no longer monitoring or inspecting or repairing.
The Kirschenbaum Contracts TM do not require notice to the subscriber of discontinuance of a service, but that provision is often changed to provide notice and when I am asked in advance of a shut down I routinely suggest notice. It need not be 30 days, but 30 minutes isn't long enough to permit the subscriber to get a Fire Watch [which you can gleefully tell them they need] or a new alarm vendor. The notice can be by any means you have successfully communicated with the subscriber in the past. Preserve the communication; also before you terminate the monitoring get the Activity Report from the central station showing the alarm history. Central stations may not hold onto that record for long once the account is canceled.
As far as local Fire Marshal requirements you should call the Fire Marshal and inquire. Some jurisdictions may actually require a permit to remove anything from the fire alarm.
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
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