We have found that one of the most common mistakes with fire alarm systems is they are not installed correctly or that they’ve been modified incorrectly. An owner might have walls constructed or moved. Things may need to be moved around. Then a contractor comes in and adds horn strobes or pull stations. If they weren’t meant to go together, your fire alarm system is not going to work correctly. Some people may not even know that there is a fire in the building.
The second most common mistake is not inspecting or testing the system thoroughly. It has to be tested by the Code and that means every single device. It doesn’t mean “oh, I looked at it.” It means testing the device by taking it off the wall. You will need to test the wiring. These are all things that a confident security company/fire alarm company should know and do.
The number one thing that many companies don’t do with their fire alarm systems is not adding a surge protection. We live in Florida. The Code book says that if you are in a lightning prone area (which means more than 15 lightning hits A YEAR and we get more than that in a minute sometimes), the alarm needs to be protected. Many fire alarm companies do not add surge protection to their alarm systems because they want service calls. We make sure that all of our systems are surge protected because we don’t want service calls. We want you, our customer, to be safe. Nobody wants to spend money on fire damage (or worse). When people choose our company, they can be assured that we have the right qualifications and the right people to do the job correctly.