Fire Alarm Maintenance Contracts | Falcon Security Systems

What a maintenance contract should actually cover

A fire alarm is the one system in a building that is expected to sit unused for years and work perfectly the first time it is needed. That only happens with testing, and testing only happens if somebody is contracted to do it.

A meaningful contract is more than an annual visit. It covers a periodic functional test of detectors and call points on a rotation so every device is tested over the cycle, battery testing under load rather than a voltage reading, sounder audibility checks in occupied areas, and a written record of everything found and fixed.

The item most often skipped is the batteries, and it is the one that fails. Standby batteries degrade quietly over three to four years and a simple voltage check on a charged battery tells you almost nothing — it needs testing under load. A panel that reports healthy and cannot run for its standby period during a power cut is a common and serious finding.

Ask what the response time is for a fault, and what is included versus chargeable. A contract that covers visits but not parts, on a system whose parts are no longer imported, is not the cover you think you bought.