KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ****************************** Testing water flow as part of your fire alarm inspection September 1, 2026 ********************** Testing water flow as part of your fire alarm inspection ********************** Ken I have not followed this discussion from the beginning so may have missed if anyone mentioned this. NFPA does not indicate that the alarm company inspection for sprinkler monitor has the responsibility to flow water. It is a physical inspection and does not require and activation. I personally do not agree with that position, it is NFPA’s standard. Ted Leventhal Marktek Inc Bensalem, PA ********************** Response ********************** Ted's comment highlights one of the most common points of confusion in our industry: the difference between what NFPA requires and what many believe represents best practice. Ted is correct. NFPA generally does not assign responsibility to the alarm company performing a sprinkler monitoring inspection to conduct a water flow test as part of that inspection. The inspection may consist of a physical examination of the monitoring equipment and signal transmission path without activating the sprinkler system itself. Whether one agrees with that position is another matter. Over the years I've found that many disputes between alarm companies and their customers arise because the subscriber assumes more was included in an inspection than actually was. You believe you performed exactly what the applicable standard required. The subscriber believes the inspection was intended to prove the entire system would perform under actual emergency conditions. Of course the Fire Alarm All in One Agreement will lay out the scope of an inspection. Both parties can be in agreement in those beliefs and still end up in a dispute. This is precisely why alarm companies need more than technical expertise. They need clear contracts that define the scope of work. If water flow testing is not included, the contract should say so. If the inspection is limited to visual examination and signal verification, the contract should say so. If additional testing is available for an additional charge, the contract should say so. Many alarm companies are surprised to learn that when litigation arises, the argument is often not about what NFPA requires. The argument becomes what the subscriber expected and what you represented you were going to do. That's where properly drafted Kirschenbaum Contracts™ become an important risk management tool. A well-written contract doesn't eliminate disputes, but it greatly improves your ability to show exactly what services were contracted for and, equally important, what services were not. The issue raised by this comment is also a good example of why members of the Kirschenbaum Concierge Program frequently consult with me before changing inspection procedures, adding services, or responding to subscriber demands. The technical question is one thing. The contractual and legal implications are often another. A simple accommodation for one subscriber can unintentionally expand liability if the service agreement isn't modified accordingly. As I've said many times, code compliance establishes a minimum standard. alarm companies and subscriber can always agree to more extensive testing. The real issue is making sure everyone understands exactly what is included in the service being provided. Ted correctly points out that NFPA does not generally require the alarm company conducting the sprinkler monitoring inspection to flow water. Whether that test should be performed is a separate discussion. But from my perspective as an attorney, the most important question is whether the contract and inspection documentation clearly state what was inspected, what was tested, and what was not. That's often what determines who wins the argument after the fact. ******************* STANDARD FORMS Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements. click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ******************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our Email List / Email Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. You can read articles and order alarm contracts on our web site www.alarmcontracts.com ************************** 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 www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
