Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/31490
20 FIRE SYSTEMS INSTALLATION www.securitysystemsnews.com JANUARY 2011 SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS FIRE SYSTEMS INSTALLATION Sprinklers to generate RMR By Tess Nacelewicz LANCASTER, Pa.—Select Security, a super-regional based here, recently bought a fire sprin- kler company to create a new sprinkler division. Select Security president Patrick Egan said the September purchase of Fire Systems Inc. of Ephrata, Pa. is unusual for a security company, but makes good business sense. It will lead to new sprinkler and alarm cus- tomers and generate additional RMR as the company does annual inspections required for sprinkler systems, Egan said. “We expect it to create signifi- cant installation and service vol- ume and contribute a significant amount of RMR in 2011,” Egan told Security Systems News. The new independent sprin- kler division, called Fire Systems Integrated, has the former owner as the general manager, he said. progress our company and make it a single source provider for all security and fire protection needs,” Egan said in a statement. The new division offers sprin- kler installation, inspection, test- ing, and service to residential and business customers, he said. He said sprinkler companies “We’re going to sell his custom- ers alarms, we’re going to sell my customers sprinkler stuff, and were going to convert his business style into more RMR,” Egan said. Select Security announced the acquisition Dec. 2, saying it’s one of the first security companies with a sprinkler division. “This vertical integration is the next natural step in continuing to do “RMR-like work” in annual sprinkler inspections to certify systems meet NFPA codes. “We’re going to contact [sprin- kler] customers, we’re going to sell them service inspection contracts and we’re going to guarantee them a service rate and all that stuff, and we’ll bill that to them prob- ably quarterly, and we’re going to turn the sprinkler division into a traditional RMR-style business,” Egan said. SSN Court finds for ADT, others By Tess Nacelewicz LISLE, Ill.—Five security com- panies, including security giant ADT, recently won a positive court ruling on an issue that has been roiling the industry in this state—public entities taking control over fire-alarm monitoring. The alarm companies won a preliminary injunction order in a federal lawsuit they filed against an Illinois fire protection district that passed an ordinance putting itself solely in control of the monitoring of commercial fire alarms in the district. The order, signed Nov. 23, essentially allowed the rein- statement of more than 400 monitoring contracts the secu- rity companies had with cus- tomers ranging from retailers to government institutions. The Lisle-Woodridge Fire District, based here, passed an ordinance in September 2009 that led to the district declaring those contracts null and void and requiring commercial property owners to contract exclusively with the district to get fire alarm monitoring service through its wireless radio network. However, the fire district almost immediately appealed the judge’s decision and was seeking a stay of the order. ADT, based in Boca Raton, Fla., and four Illinois corpora- tions, Alarm Detection Systems; D.M.C. Security Services; Illinois Alarm Services; and SMG Security Systems, filed the lawsuit this summer in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. Among the claims in the lawsuit is that the fire district violated the businesses’ constitutionally protected contract rights and committed antitrust violations by creating a monopoly for the district. The case itself is pending. ALARM see page 21 Dynafire downturn dynamo By Tess Nacelewicz CASSELBERRY, Fla.—Dynafire, a six-year-old alarm company based here, has recently doubled its sales force despite the economic recession’s damaging effect on Florida, said president Ken Hoffmann. He credits Dynafire’s success to hard work and innovation, such as using wireless mesh network technology. And in the past two years, the company also landed such major contracts as a $1.5 million job to install the fire alarm system at the 2 mil- lion-square-foot Bonnet Creek convention and resort complex in Orlando, he said. Dy n a f i r e u s e d Honeywell fire products with digital voice and smoke control. “Someone told me Ken Hoffmann a long time ago that the best time to build market share is dur- ing a down time. I think we’re doing a very good job at that,” Hoffmann recently told Security Systems News. He said Dynafire has 65 employees, with eight dedicated to sales, and 4,000 mostly-com- mercial customers throughout Florida. About 2,500 customers, including Bonnet Creek, are served by the company’s wireless mesh network, one of the largest in the country, he said. “Right now,” Hoffmann said, I’ve basically built a private radio network that covers the entire state of Florida.” SSN Toronto regulation alarming By Tess Nacelewicz TORONTO—A zero-tolerance false alarm regulation was raising industry concerns in December because residents reportedly were disconnecting their fire alarms to avoid fines of more than $1,000. “We believe that this is a serious situation,” Stan Martin, executive director of the Security Industry Alarm Coalition told Security Systems News. “Anytime you’re talking about people shutting off systems because of high fines that’s a huge public safety issue and we all need to work together to resolve that,” he added. Martin said SIAC was working with CANASA (Canadian Security Association) on the issue. However, it looked possible the controversial city rule could get changed before the end of the year, if Toronto City Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby had her way. She told SSN she knows of four or For a more robust version of stories in this section, see: WWW.SECURITYSYSTEMSNEWS.COM n five residents in her ward who said they had unplugged their alarms rather than pay a false alarm fine of $350 per fire truck. With three trucks routinely responding, the fee can total $1,050. The council approved the zero- tolerance approach earlier this year as a way to combat nuisance false alarms and raise revenue, but Luby said the impact on homeowners wasn’t made clear to councillors. “We’ve never had this issue before. It’s a shock to all of us,” she said. Luby planned to make a motion to the City Council at its Dec. 16 meeting that the city go back to a previous regulation approved in 2006 allowing one false fire alarm per year without charge. Luby believed there was support among the city’s elected leaders—44 city councilors and the mayor—for the change. “Common sense has to pre- vail, that’s all I’m asking for, to make things sensible and reasonable,” she said. SSN BRIEFS Commission recognizes en-Gauge technology ROCKLAND, Mass.—en-Gauge, maker of monitoring systems for fire extin- guishers and building safety devices, announced in December that The Joint Commission, a nonprofit that accredits healthcare organizations, has recog- nized its technology to electronically monitor fire extinguishers as an equiva- lent way to meet its physical inspection of fire extinguishers requirement. The en-Gauge System is a wireless sensor monitoring platform giving early warning of emergency equipment use and 24/7 equipment supervision. In 2009, a commission survey found the main challenge for healthcare cen- ters in maintaining compliance with the commission’s ambulatory care standards was fire safety equipment maintenance. The commission requires monthly maintenance and inspection of fire equipment to remain accredited. The commission said en-Gauge’s tech- nology appears to exceed the require- ments of its EC.02.03.05 EP 15 code. SimplexGrinnell now mentor to protégé BOCA RATON, Fla.—SimplexGrinnell, a fire and life-safety systems com- pany, announced in November that it has become a mentor of American Pride General Engineering under the U.S. General Services Administration’s Mentor-Protégé Program. American pride is a CVE verified service disabled veteran-owned small business and Native American-owned disabled vet- eran business enterprise specializing in design/build of horizontal and vertical military and public works projects. The Mentor-Protégé Program enhances the capability of service dis- abled veteran-owned small businesses to compete successfully for federal government contracts. Mentors pro- vide technical and management assis- tance, financial assistance, subcontract support, and assistance in performing prime contracts. CBORD introduces mass notification solution ITHACA, N.Y.—The CBORD Group, a provider of campus card and integrated security solutions to colleges and uni- versities, in November announced the release of CS Notify, a new mass noti- fication system designed to meet cam- pus emergency and general multi-mode communication needs. CS Notify is built on CBORD’s cam- pus card and access control solutions, and includes a variety of deployment media, contact information updating, and mobile message origination.