A fire doubles in size every minute. With EMC Security monitored fire alarms, help gets there fast.

When equipped with monitored alarms, the fire system in your home or business is activated from a smoke detector, heat detector or a combination of both. The activating device alerts your central control panel and that panel uses either a phone line, Internet connection or cellular communicator to alert the central monitoring station.

“A fire alarm is the highest priority alarm processed, second is medical, panic or duress alarms, then intrusion alarms,” according to Vince Raia, president of EMC Security. “The central station software actually pushes high priority alarms ahead of others to the operators.”

Once an operator receives the alarms, they dispatch the fire department by contacting the 911 center. “Fire alarms are handled by a team of operators,” Raia said. “One dispatches while the other tries to reach the homeowner. Some may be false alarms, so this gives the homeowner an opportunity to cancel. Sometimes these calls yield additional information about people or pets in the home. It all happens very quickly.”

After the fire department is on the way, dispatch notifies the people on the call list supplied by the customer that there has been a fire and help is on the way.

Early detection is vital to containing fires and saving lives. A fast response is important in limiting property loss due to fire, smoke or water damage. Remember, your pets can’t call for help, so a monitored system keeps them safe while you’re away. Nearly all homeowners’ insurers offer discounts to have your home monitored for fire protection.

Consider a monitored fire alarm because every moment counts. For more information, call EMC Security at 770-963-0305 or visit emcsecurity.com.