How fire panels work & costs associated with fire panel communication:
Fire panels have two dedicated phone lines to each panel. One phone line is used for primary communication between the building and monitoring company, and the secondary line acts as a back-up to the primary. The monitoring company receives communication from the panel about system status, errors, and possible problems on-site. If there is a problem being reported from the property's fire panel then the monitoring company notifies the property manager or owner, and the necessary steps are taken to address the problem. However, if there is a "water flow" on-site then the fire department is dispatched by the fire monitoring company, and other proper parties (property manager, owner, etc) are notified. The term "water flow" is used to describe water flowing out of fire sprinkler system. If water is flowing out of the sprinkler system then it is safe to usually assume there is a fire.
Understanding the basics of fire monitoring is important because you can better break down the costs associated with these systems. The two basic costs are phone lines and a monitoring contract.
Why it saves money to switch to cellular communication vs. land line:
Land line phone lines have become very expensive to maintain because of copper and how expensive it is to repair/replace. I recently switched a FLS account from 10 hard phone lines to cellular and was able to save $3,780 per year. That is a significant savings, and much larger savings can be achieved on properties that have 20+ phone lines.
How to implement the change to cellular:
You'll want to see the contract you have in place with your current monitoring company. Hopefully you didn't sign an unnecessary long term contract. If you didn't sign a long term contract then you will want to confirm with the monitoring company you're switching to that there are no lock out codes on the fire panel. Some companies lock down panels so other providers can't use the panel in the future. You can get these unlocked but it is difficult to do if you terminate service first. If locked then request them to be unlocked and terminate after.
Also, I've heard of FLS companies telling their clients they will take FLS control panels with them if service is terminated. They aren't allowed to do this because it would leave the system without monitoring capabilities. Push back and you'll win that argument all day. I'm always available if you have more questions and want more details.
Land line phone lines have become very expensive to maintain because of copper and how expensive it is to repair/replace. I recently switched a FLS account from 10 hard phone lines to cellular and was able to save $3,780 per year. That is a significant savings, and much larger savings can be achieved on properties that have 20+ phone lines.
How to implement the change to cellular:
You'll want to see the contract you have in place with your current monitoring company. Hopefully you didn't sign an unnecessary long term contract. If you didn't sign a long term contract then you will want to confirm with the monitoring company you're switching to that there are no lock out codes on the fire panel. Some companies lock down panels so other providers can't use the panel in the future. You can get these unlocked but it is difficult to do if you terminate service first. If locked then request them to be unlocked and terminate after.
Also, I've heard of FLS companies telling their clients they will take FLS control panels with them if service is terminated. They aren't allowed to do this because it would leave the system without monitoring capabilities. Push back and you'll win that argument all day. I'm always available if you have more questions and want more details.
