Monitoring response Scenarios

[nodnarb]

As a new customer, I have some questions about how monitoring works with Surety:

1. If I “clear” an alarm on the panel and/or in the Alarm.com app, will that clear signal go to the monitoring company and prevent a dispatch such that I don’t need to make contact directly with the monitoring company? And is the answer the same in all cases? (A prior monitoring company would dispatch fire for a fire alarm unless they had direct contact with someone on the call list, even if the alarm is cleared on panel or via Alarm.com app.)
2. I assume that entering a “Duress” code will result in immediate dispatch of police, without any calls before or after to the premises or call list. Is that correct?
3. How does the monitoring company handle various forms of “panic” alarms (including burglary, fire and auxiliary)? Do they call to confirm or immediately dispatch and call after?
4. Is there any other circumstance where monitoring company might dispatch before going through the full call list?
5. When test mode is on, will the monitoring company ignore ALL alarms, panics, etc. and not dispatch in any circumstance? I have been told that some monitoring companies will still dispatch for certain types of alarms (e.g., duress code) even when on test mode.

[nicholas]

@nodnarb

If I “clear” an alarm on the panel and/or in the Alarm.com app, will that clear signal go to the monitoring company and prevent a dispatch such that I don’t need to make contact directly with the monitoring company? And is the answer the same in all cases?

Entering the code on the panel or clicking the cancel button in the Alarm.com app will send an abort/cancel to the monitoring center. Abort signals are accepted for burglary and video alarm signals by default, but all other signal types require you to make contact with operators in order to be disregarded. This can be done either by answering the call from them or by calling the monitoring center.

@nodnarb

I assume that entering a “Duress” code will result in immediate dispatch of police, without any calls before or after to the premises or call list. Is that correct?

No, by default, for duress or police panic, operators will dispatch the police first, then call the contact list. If there is a premise number on file, it will be skipped.

@nodnarb

• How does the monitoring company handle various forms of “panic” alarms (including burglary, fire and auxiliary)? Do they call to confirm or immediately dispatch and call after?

Our default monitoring procedures below go over the exact procedures that they follow. Fire and medical panic alarms are handled the same regardless of how they were activated.

Surety Default Central Monitoring Procedure

The default procedure followed by our operators can be found below: BURGLARY & RESIDENTIAL FIRE: Call order as shown on your System Manager professional monitoring page. The contact order will be as follows: Two Way Voice (if enabled) Premise Number (if provided) Cell Contact(s) Police/Fire authorities will be called where indicated in your contact list. This will always be after Two Way Voice and Premise Phone Number (if applicable) but can be at any point before or after cell contacts. Note…

@nodnarb

Is there any other circumstance where monitoring company might dispatch before going through the full call list?

Yes, duress, police panic, carbon monoxide, commercial fire, and medical alarms all have dispatch occurring prior to the call list being completed. Carbon monoxide alarms will always result in dispatch, even if the call is answered prior to dispatch.

@nodnarb

When test mode is on, will the monitoring company ignore ALL alarms, panics, etc. and not dispatch in any circumstance?

That’s correct. If the account is placed on test, the monitoring center will ignore all signals, and no dispatch will be made. Signals are still logged to the account history.