KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ********************** Are you liable for fire watch expense / Do protective provisions apply to installation July 10, 2023 ************************* Are you liable for fire watch expense ************************* Ken Does your contract include an exemption of responsibility that involved costs for fire guards in the event of a full or partial outage of the fire alarm system as it applies to the Fire Alarm firm regardless of who caused the problem? Does your contract have an exemption of responsibility and retaliation from the customer when the Fire Department plus other enforcement agencies, and maybe their insurance company, must be notified when the fire alarm system is fully or partially out of service? Firemeagain **************************** Response **************************** The appropriate contract for commercial fire is the Fire All in One, which would cover you for installation, service, inspection and monitoring. This contract, like all other Standard Form Agreements, contains protective provisions that insulate the fire alarm contractor from liability, including negligence and breach of contract. The above question raises an interesting issue, which is, is the fire alarm company liable for fire watch expense if the fire alarm system is down because of a mistake made by the fire alarm company? You might ask how could that even be the case, but I am sure there are plenty of mistakes that could be made that would render the fire alarm inoperable and unfixable for a long enough time to require fire watch [assuming the rules and law are followed]. Since we set the scenario let’s agree that the alarm tech did not disable the fire alarm on purpose; just plain old simple negligence or breach of contract, ie, fail to come and repair timely. The Fire All in One is clear that there is no liability for negligence or breach of contract, and equally as clear that in the event liability is found, the damage award cannot exceed $250. That won’t be enough to cover the fire watch. The Fire All in One specifically authorizes what the law requires, that the AHJ be notified of an inoperable commercial fire alarm after a period of down time. So the contract doesn’t have an exemption, but an authorization. ********************** Do protective provisions apply to installation ********************** Ken We have a customer that does not want to sign the exculpatory clause or limitation of liability because they believe it is for the monitoring of the system only and not the installation of a new fire alarm system. Can you please verify if that is the case? Joe ************************* Response ************************* If I understand the question, the customer would agree to the exculpatory and limitation of liability clauses for monitoring, but not for the installation. You think the provisions only apply to the monitoring services. The protective provisions in the Standard Form Agreements, certainly including the Fire All in One, apply to anything and everything the alarm company contracts to perform, from design, sale, installation, inspection, repair service and monitoring. And guess what, you need the protection for all aspects of your services. Some customers complain that provisions of the Standard Form Agreement don’t apply to their deal and they want the contract revised. This is not only unnecessary but a waste of time and money. How do you respond? By telling the customer what should be obvious, the contract is a Standard Form and only the selected provisions are applicable; that the form is your standard form, used by most of the alarm industry, wasn’t drafted for this one customer and this one job. A customer who wants an individually designed alarm contract better be worth the cost in both time and expense. ************************** STANDARD FORM AGREEMENTS: To order up to date Standard Form Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ************************* THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily. https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-exchange ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our email list / Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. ************************** 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
