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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on December 20, 2012 at 12:41pm

The problem I’m talking about, though, is when the owner, at the direction of the firefighters, tries to reset the system while the firefighters are on site. This is the problem I’d like addressed here.

 

Hard to say what issues you may have experienced where you are, but in most alarm panel responses, if the owner is actually there, it is more the other way around, they should know the system better than us. The issue is that the alarm sounded for a reason and after doing a search to determine there is no emergency and this was a false alarm, then you try to reset it. Most times the alarm resets, and problem is solved, there have only been a few times in my years that the owner had to call for an alarm technician.

 

There is a reason that before I arrive, the system should not be reset. When it’s reset, I can’t fix the system because the bad detector isn't showing bad anymore, and the false alarm is going to happen again. Can’t help it, that’s the way electronics work.

 

This is understandable from your viewpoint, but not as practical from mine. If I'm on a call at night, especially for a residential housing unit, I can't leave the system in alarm mode and just wait for a technician who may not arrive for an hour or more (if someone is even on call).

 

However, from a FF viewpoint, there is stuff that technicians could do to help both of us. Number one is the alarm system itself and how it is comprised. If I go to the panel and it says alarm ZONE 1......it does me no good if I have no clue what ZONE 1 is. Secondly, how about what identifies the alarm, if the panel says SMOKE DETECTOR Zone 2 and I have a zone map, I can narrow things down. IF it is a pull station, same thing.

 

More often than not, we are blind going into trying to determine what the cause was. We will silence the alarm so we can look for a potential cause, but still have our hearing intact. If we take a look and don't find anything, then we try to reset, if it doesn't reset, then it is the owner's responsibility to have a fire watch and call the alarm company.

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Summers on January 9, 2013 at 5:23pm

We issue fines for repeated false alarms in my dept. I see your concern resetting the alarm panel (where, why, and how). That might be a major issue. I would take the extra step and contact the manager of the restaurant, inform them of the dangers of resetting the panel, and that just because they DO reset the panel, it doesn't cancel your response. I would also include the general talk of not able to respond to "real" emergencies and the dangers of basic engine response.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Bates on January 24, 2013 at 4:36pm

We do not allow building owners or facility managers to have keys for the fire alarm panels and they are required to be locked at all times.  Building staffs job is to evacuate patrons safely and determine if there is a problem within the building if they feel safe doing so.  I personally have had restauratn patrons evacuate a facility until I was able to complete a proper search to determine there were no problems - mainly because the staff did not know why the alarm went off or what zone.  I then brought the restaurant manage to the sation in the morning and explained the possibility of up to a $10,000 fine for messing with the fire alarm system fo rthe emloyee who had done so - or for management if they ordered the staff memebr to do so.  No problems since that time

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Permalink Reply by Russ on January 30, 2013 at 6:57am

In florida you can silence the alarm but not reset by law

most fire dists place a orange sticker on the alarm box to tell them what they can and cannot do and the assoictaed fines (including taking off the sticker then saying it was not there or readable because its the kind of sticker that fragments if you try to remove it)...we even offer to put as many reminder stickers as needed whereever the property owner wants them

fines for false alarms are determined by cause. weather related gets a pass becase we cant control that, non notification during repair and other types are review but basically you get three freebies then you start paying $500 a pop which everyone fights

we do get some unsusal offers to settle those, one offered to buy is lunch, another hotel offered free rooms-(good one for superbowl weekend), another wanted a court hearing---did it then lost and complained about having to pay the fine(s) and court costs, most resturants want to give free meals but all are refused...WE WANT THE MONEY!

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