Re: Monitoring station response time

["R.H.Campbell" <rh.campbell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I would say.... that depends. If you disarmed the system right away (or
during the time when
the panel was still online with the station), then they could have received
a "cancel
code" along with the alarm, and most stations won't even call, since they
know someone with a valid code has disarmed the system. Your station
might simply have been doing a double check (as many do) as a matter of
policy, which can be some minutes
afterwards depending upon how many alarms they are receiving at the moment
without cancel
codes.

The normal interval to respond to an alarm (assuming no receipt of a cancel
code) I expect should be immediately or within a minute, depending upon how
busy they are at that moment. Early morning and around 5 pm seem to be the
busiest periods of a workday when stations are running at peak capacity,
which would normally slow things down a bit (Lots of people disarming their
panels at work and screwing things up etc.....)

With a cancel code, response can vary (assuming the station calls at all)
and can vary greatly based on other
alarms being received at the same time. They should probably be explaining
to the end user they are just doing a double check ; otherwise, the
impression left is slow response as you felt. Cancel codes are one of the
things that dramatically decrease problems for customers; however, they
certainly can leave the impression of poor response.

It should be noted however, that a lot of companies (and customers) prefer
NOT to use cancel codes and wish the station to call on every alarm trip.
This is a simple programming change in the alarm panel. While lack of a
cancel code increases the workload on the station (and IMO likely doesn't
add much benefit to the end user), it certainly does increase the false
alarm rate substantially.

If I lived in LA or another large community with lots of crimes against
people, I might be tempted to forget about cancel codes (and probably also
activate a duress code in my panel ). But if I lived in a normal community
where crimes against people was not a major issue, a cancel code is much
more likely to prevent a false dispatch and a fine than it is to decrease
the effectiveness of your alarm in any meaningful way.

This is something you should discuss with your alarm company in regards to
your personal situation.

Regards,

R.H.Campbell
Home Security Metal Products
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
www.homemetal.com

"Warren" <warrens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:433542FC.3030705@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> This morning I my alarm system was triggered.  Fortunately it was a false
> alarm, no damage or injury occurred.
>
> I checked on my watch as the alarm system released the phone line and then
> waited for a phone call from the monitoring station.  It took 3 minutes
> and 18 seconds for the phone to ring.
>
> Their excuse for the delay is that they were busy.
>
> What is considered a maximum acceptable response time when phoning a
> residence following an alarm?
>