Commercial alarm procedures

Question 1

If the alarm system is not working, the building owner is required by PCC Title 31 to
provide a ____ until the system is in acceptable working order. There are
some instances where a fire watch is not warranted.

Answer 1

fire watch

Question 2

Any alarm triggered without an obvious cause that does not have a
true emergency related to it. This includes, but is not limited to, malicious or
intentional activation, accidental activation (e.g. bumping a manual pull station,
careless activation as a result of construction work, burnt food, poor maintenance
practices, etc)

Answer 2

False alarm

Question 3

Includes offices, schools, stores, hotels,
motels, hospitals, apartments, condominiums, etc.

Answer 3

commercial or business occupancy

Question 4

ncludes single-family residences, duplexes, mobile homes,
barns, or residential garages

Answer 4

Residential property

Question 5

Property owner or owner’s representative who shall
respond to the site during and/or following alarm activation. The RP will
coordinate the restoration of the system and the security of the property

Answer 5

Responsible party

Question 6

An assigned person who will patrol the occupancy and alert 911 if
there is an emergency (refer to Form 300.04 Fire Watch Agreement).

Answer 6

Fire watch

Question 7

Includes any audible, visual, or electronically transmitted and received
notification for a safety response

Answer 7

Alarm

Question 8

If there are unusual circumstances, the on-scene officer can have Dispatch contact
the _____ during business hours or the ___ during afterhours or weekends.

Answer 8

on-call senior inspector, on-duty fire investigator

Question 9

Below are examples of instances when the company officer should notify a senior
inspector or the on-duty fire investigator

Answer 9

1. If an alarm system will not reset and there is no RP to assume control of
   the commercial or business occupancy.
2. Repetitive responses. Note: Follow up with proper documentation in the
   Incident System and a FMO referral.
3. Commercial or business occupancy is under construction and RP is
   unaware of the proper operation of the alarm system.
4. Fire watch is being established. (Also notify your on-duty BC

Question 10

Requesting an RP prior to the first PF&R unit arriving and investigating is ____ in most cases

Answer 10

not appropriate

Question 11

If the alarm system is reporting to an off-site supervising station, the supervising
station is required to notify a guard service, owner’s representative, or
designated person who can respond to the site within ____ for an alarm, or ____ for supervisory and trouble signals.

Answer 11

two hours, four hours

Question 12

Fire alarms which have been silenced will go back into alarm when any ___ on the system activates

Answer 12

initiation device

Question 13

_____indicated on the system means there is something amiss with the system, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the system will not function.

Answer 13

Trouble

Question 14

Newer systems may also have “____” indicating an action is necessary to correct
a condition on the system which may include a closed sprinkler valve or
activation of a duct detector.

Answer 14

supervisory

Question 15

PF&R shall respond on all commercial emergency alarm signals until the alarm
has been determined to be false by one of the following methods;

Answer 15

1. Dispatch notifies responding fire company they have had contact with
   alarm company who is reporting the alarm to be false or accidental with a
   cause.
   a. Responses to any occupancy type that the alarm company or RP
   states there is no problem identified but they are unable to explain
   the alarm activation will require a continued code 1 response.
   b. Officers should use discretion when canceling response to a
   commercial building in their FMA with known significant fire or
   life safety concerns

Question 16

If it is determined that the alarm response falls into number B1 or B2 above the
responding fire company can cancel the response and clear the call.

Answer 16

Dispatch notifies responding fire company they have had contact with
alarm company who is reporting the alarm to be false or accidental with a
cause

Dispatch notifies responding fire company they have had contact with RP
at alarm location who is reporting the alarm to be false or accidental with
cause. RP must be at the alarm location

Question 17

It is___PF&R’s responsibility to reset the system. Companies may assist
with the process as a courtesy to the building or business owner

Answer 17

not

Question 18

Companies arriving at a false alarm shall attempt to gather details of the nature
or cause of the false alarm, as well as ___. Such details shall be entered into the Incident System to assist future code enforcement efforts.

Answer 18

contact information for the responsible party

Question 19

The Incident System tracks false alarms for response addresses on a rolling 12-
month time frame. When___false alarms are entered into the system during a
12-month period for a specific address, an electronic notification (e-mail) will be
PF&R 09/19/2018 - js Operational Guideline 6.18 Page 4 of 6
automatically generated and sent to the designated person(s) in the FMO.

Answer 19

three

Question 20

A company officer may elect not to respond to a commercial fire alarm outside of
the guidelines in Section B above if they have current personal knowledge that a….

Answer 20

system is being tested, worked on, or is otherwise out of service for an
appropriate reason

Question 21

If the system cannot be restored or other conditions abated before the
PF&R representative is ready to leave the premises, the company officer
should:

Answer 21

a. Require an equal degree of safety be provided for the occupancy, or
b. Require and approve a fire watch plan and provider, or
c. Determine if a fire watch is necessary.

Question 22

A fire watch should be required:

Answer 22

1. When systems are in an alarm or trouble condition and cannot be reset, or
2. Imminently dangerous conditions are not fully abated, and the building is
   occupied by people who may not be awake, alert, or able to evacuate
   quickly.

Question 23

In warehouses where sprinkler systems are inoperative, it generally is____ to require a fire watch.

Answer 23

not appropriate

Question 24

A vacant building with an alarm or sprinkler system not functioning will
____ need a fire watch if no imminent dangerous conditions exist

Answer 24

generally not

Question 25

However, if the assembly type occupancy is occupied for an after-hours
function and the alarm or sprinkler system is not operating correctly, ____ agreement must be established.

Answer 25

a fire watch

Question 26

If the decision is made to place the occupancy or building in fire watch, the
company officer may allow the owner to provide the fire watch with ____

Answer 26

their own staff, an agent, or by a licensed bonded security guard (an approved list is on file
in the FMO)

Question 27

If the RP with assistance of the company officer can not reset an alarm system in
full alarm, the company officer will use ____

Answer 27

the criteria stated in this policy and
decide if the occupancy or building warrants a fire watch