False alarm

A false alarm is the notification of emergency responders to an event that is not an emergency.

What is a false alarm?

False alarms, often called nuisance alarms, are the alerting of emergency responders to an event that is not actually an emergency. This can be a fire alarm or intrusion detection system that is being set off by mistake.

What ARE false alarmS Important?

It is important to reduce false alarms for many reasons. Here are two of the biggest reasons:

• First, false alarms can come with fines. Indeed, a company that is repeatedly asking for emergency responders when they are not needed might experience significant, and repeated, fines.
• Second, emergency responders are busy, and they need to prioritize responses based on their likelihood that the alarm is a legitimate emergency situation. If your location gains a reputation for many false alarms, it can see the time it takes for responders to arrive increase. In a real emergency situation, this could prove costly.

Using video alarms is a great way to inform emergency responders to react to your incidents by providing them with a real-time video of what is happening. They can see what is happening and react in a more appropriate manner. For example, they can dispatch appropriate services (police, fire trucks, and/or ambulances) as well as an appropriate level of response (depending on the level of risk or size of the emergency).

This goes beyond reducing your false alarm rate by providing video of verified alarm situations so that emergency responders know how to respond to the specific event.