CS refuses to monitor fire alarm / use of Fire All in One / Best practices for central stations April 12, 2017

KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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CS refuses to monitor fire alarm / use of Fire All in One / Best practices for central stations
April 12, 2017
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Next webinar April 18, 2017: See below for details.
Title: All You Need To Know About Alarm dealer program contracts - getting in and getting out
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7359323076355955715
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CS refuses to monitor fire alarm 
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Ken
    I have a client in an 8 story towne haouse in NYC.  One floor is a rental to a business.  His electrician wires house smokes to loop to each smoke on the individual floor but no connection floor to floor.  He had him install a Nest wifi smoke and CO system and wants me to put my central station number in the Nest smoke notification system so that when a smoke trips it will communicate to my central station and call him not the FDNY.  Then obviously he will call FDNY.
He has no nyc approved fire protection in the building.  No pull stations, strobes. No nyc approved fire wire
    He has 120v wiring from smoke to smoke with red fire wire (not nyc approved) in the same 120v boxes where he was initially intending to use as the connection from floor to floor. 
PS I told him I couldn't do it along with my central who said they wanted nothing to do with it too
Stephen
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Response
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    Good call, by you and your central station.  Why put your reputation and business at risk getting involved with a fire alarm system that is clearly non-compliant with NYFD requirements.  The commercial space likely requires a mandatory fire alarm system installed pursuant to building department approved plans and specifications.  You recognize other deficiencies.  
    No one wants to give up business but sometimes it's the right call.  No contract can protect you in this situation and you can't be comfortable that your insurance will be sufficient to bale you out if there is a claim.
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use of Fire All in One
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Ken,
    On the Fire All In One contract line item # 2 where it states strike out A or B for service option my belief is that we strike the option we are not going to use, not the one we will use. Right or wrong?
    If you use this for the newsletter please allow me to remain 
anonymous.
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Response
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    That is correct.  You cross out the provision that doesn't apply.  You are also checking the box next to the provisions that do apply.
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Best practices for central stations
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     Not all central stations are alike, which may be surprising to hear since the methodology of signal response should be consistent.  Without doubt many dealers decide on a central station based on their relationship with the central station’s owner or sales representative, but how the central station performs its monitoring services ultimately becomes a primary factor in deciding whether to do business or continue doing business with that central station.
    I suppose there are a number of ways to evaluate a central station and no doubt one’s perspective comes into play when choosing relative factors.  A manufacturer, for example, may believe that the hardware used at the central station is the most important factor; software developers and third party vendors may think that is the most important issue.  A dealer may first consider the central station’s location, reputation for monitoring particular type of alarms or pricing.  Most often when I am “involved” with a central stations it’s because the dealer didn’t pay or there has been a loss and the central station is concerned about getting sued or has been sued.  So potential liability is usually my first concern.  Best practices to be followed by a central station would therefore involve practices that would best protect the central station from getting sued or defending a case if it does get sued.
    Best practices for a central station is continued tomorrow.  Be sure to read it.
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WEBINARS:  Sign up for any or all of the webinars that interest you.
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FREE Webinar Series "All You Need To Know About" alarm industry issues. 
Register for one or all.  Each presentation scheduled for half hour to hour.  Not recorded.
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Title: All You Need To Know About Alarm dealer program contracts - getting in and getting out
When: April 18, 2017 noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: General discussion about honeypots/trappings of dealer program contracts and how difficult they are to get out of. 
Who should attend: Alarm company owners.
Presented by: James Babbitt, Esq. General Counsel, RMR Capital Group jbabbitt@rmr-capital.com; 952 467 8610
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7359323076355955715
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Title: All You Need to know about Internet security and why is it relevant for the alarm industry 
When: April 25,  2017 noon EST
Where: Your computer for power point, live video and call in on computer or phone
What will be covered: Discussion of securing Internet devices.  Attacks by Mirai and other botnets and disruption to Internet services around the world made possible because of the millions of poorly secured cameras, DVRs and other installed network devices. 
Who should attend: Alarm company owners, general and technical managers
Presented by: Securifi, a leading router and smart home hub company, soon to be offering its own comprehensive Total Security Solution (Monitored Security + IoT Security + Parental Controls + Malware Blocking) to the alarm industry.  Rohit Somani     rohit.somani@securifi.com    855 969 7328  
Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6899604070803705091
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THE ALARM EXCHANGE

Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
516 747 6700
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
oovoo account: KenKirschenbaum