Emergency Control Function Interfaces allow fire alarm systems to communicate with other critical building systems during a fire emergency to ensure the safe evacuation of occupants.

Remote annunciators are smaller panels that provide a fire system status and a limited set of functional switches (e.g., acknowledge a signal or silence an alarm).

This article provides an overview of different types of fire alarm notification devices, which alert the building occupants to evacuate the premises or relocate using both audible and visual alarms when the fire system detects a possible fire. The most common notification devices installed today are strobes, horn strobes, speakers and speaker strobes.

All commercial fire alarm systems are required to be monitored 24/7 by an outside monitoring center that is equipped to respond to and handle fire alarm events. But what should you look for when selecting a monitoring center (also referred to as a "Central Station") for your fire system? This article explains the important role that monitoring centers play and provides a primer on how to select a qualified monitoring center.

As businesses everywhere are working their way through the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve been getting calls from our clients to help them open their doors safely – and we mean that literally. We have been installing automatic door openers to create hands-free door entry systems for office suites, office bathrooms and more.

Supervisory switches are a group of initiating devices that are installed at different parts of the automatic fire sprinkler system and are monitored by the Fire Alarm Control Panel (FACP). Their job is to monitor the sprinkler system to ensure that it’s in proper working condition and to transmit a supervisory signal to the FACP when an issue is detected.

This article provides an overview of manual pull stations and waterflow switches, which are both fire alarm initiating devices. We'll explain what they are, how they work and where they are used. In commercial fire alarm systems, initiating devices play a critical role of detecting an active fire and dangerous level of carbon monoxide as well as monitoring the sprinkler system to ensure that it's in proper working condition.

This article provides an overview of heat detectors, carbon monoxide (CO) detectors and multi-sensor detectors, which are all fire alarm initiating devices. We'll explain what they are, how they work and where they are used. In commercial fire alarm systems, initiating devices play a critical role of detecting an active fire and dangerous level of carbon monoxide as well as monitoring the sprinkler system to ensure that it's in proper working condition.

This article provides of smoke detectors, duct smoke detectors and beam detectors which are all fire alarm initiating devices. We'll explain what they are, how they work and where they are used. In commercial fire alarm systems, initiating devices play a critical role of detecting an active fire and dangerous level of carbon monoxide as well as monitoring the sprinkler system to ensure that it's in proper working condition.

The exact design of a commercial fire alarm system is determined by the commercial space’s occupancy classification and the local codes mandated by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for that specific occupancy classification. But regardless of the system design, all commercial fire alarm systems must have a Fire Alarm Control Panel (FACP).

When a business is temporarily closed or is rarely visited, it’s even more critical to make sure your business security and fire systems are working properly. Here are the top seven tips on how to optimize your business security and fire systems to keep your business assets protected — even when you are stuck at home.

As recently as a couple of years ago, commercial video surveillance and access control systems were closed systems that couldn’t share data with each other. Despite the many benefits of integrating video and access control, the cost and technical complexity made it impractical to integrate these disparate systems. But thanks to advances in technology, integrating video surveillance and access control systems is now possible.