Hello Ken,
I have found your contracts and mailing list to be of upmost help. Thanks!
Here is a question I have. I have a customer who is opening a very small
"Mini Mart". What are the requirements for me to provide a UL listed
Commercial Burg/ Fire Alarm System. Is the UL listing only for purposes of
getting up to a 20% insurance discount, or is there more to it. I do not
believe that the owner will want to go through the extra expense and have a
UL listed commercial Burg & Fire alarm panel. Can I provide a UL listed
Commercial Burg alarm panel that is not UL listed for Fire, but have smoke
detectors added on for convinience and not call the system a Fire Alarm
system? What if they only want a residential system installed?
Are the contracts for residential AND commercial, or is there one for each.
Thanks for any input you may have.
Jan Puetthoff
Owner
JP Security,
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Answer:
UL requirements mean a lot more than insurance discounts. UL is an
independent testing lab that sets standards that are adopted in many
jurisdictions as requirements. These standards include not only the type of
equipment that must be installed, but the manner in which the equipment is
installed, the service and sometimes inspections required and for alarms,
response time for guards.
Most jurisdictions have building codes, whether they are local or
statewide. You must be familiar with the building codes in your
jurisdiction for the installations and services you provide. Compliance
with UL will not be enough if the building codes provide for something
different. Although you could point to UL standards to establish industry
custom and standards, though customs and standards must take a back seat to
statutory requirements for particular installations and systems.
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So your first step is to check your building code, then UL, which may be
specified in your code.
Keep in mind that your contracts will not protect you if you ignore
statutory building code requirements, especially your failure to adhere to
those requirements is found to be the cause of the system deficiency. For
example, if specific wire is required you can not intentionally use
inferior wire and expect the contract provisions to protect you. You should
also note that I used the work "intentionally". If you are merely negligent
in your installation your contract should protect you. There is no
definitive line to cross separating intentional conduct from negligence,
which is why we have so many lawsuits against alarm companies.
I suppose the message here is that as a professional alarm company [ I see
you are in Kentucky and I don't have any state license listed on my web
site - so there may be no license requirements] you are charged with
knowing the system requirements in your jurisdiction. Since the subscriber
you mention is a commercial establishment you may find that there are
specific code requirements, especially for the fire system.
Absent any code requirements I would follow UL and NFPA requirements -
though keep in mind I am not an alarm tech.