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Frequently asked questions from building owners, property managers, and general contractors. Search, or browse by topic.
Proposals & Bids
No. Proposals are free, with no obligation. Each one has a clear scope, so there are no surprise charges later.
No. If you have drawings, send them and we will bid to them. If you do not, photos and a short walkthrough video are usually enough for us to price the job. If we need to see the building first, we will let you know.
Plans if you have them, or photos and a short walkthrough video of the space. We also need the basics: the building size, how it is used, and what the project needs (a new system, a takeover, or added coverage).
Both. Send the plan set or the fire alarm spec section and we price it to the engineer's drawings as drawn. If there are no stamped fire alarm drawings yet, send us the architectural drawings and we will design the system and submit it for AHJ approval.
The plan set or spec section, your bid date, and the project address. We come back with a price and the scope spelled out.
Yes. When the job calls for more than the fire alarm, we can put every low-voltage system you need in one bid, with one crew and one schedule on site.
Once the contract is signed, we send the fire alarm submittal and a certificate of insurance naming your project. If your office needs paperwork to add us to the bid list, ask and we will send our COI, license, and W-9.
Fire Alarm
The owner or architect usually files the permit along with the building permit. We prepare the fire alarm submittal (shop drawings, device layout, battery and voltage calculations, and product data), work with your local fire inspector or building department, and run the final acceptance test. We file it when your town requires us to.
Yes. We pretest the system ahead of the acceptance test.
It has to be installed to the approved plans and NFPA 72, fully tested, and pass final inspection. We prepare the fire alarm submittal, pretest the system ahead of the acceptance test, and take the system through final inspection.
Yes. We take over monitoring, inspections, and service on Fire-Lite, Silent Knight, Potter, and Honeywell fire alarm panels, no matter who installed them. We document the panel and devices first, then plan the switch so there is no gap in monitoring. For any other panel, send us a photo and we will tell you your options.
Not if it is a Fire-Lite, Silent Knight, Potter, or Honeywell panel. We take those over as they are, plan the switch so there is no gap in monitoring, and catch up any missed inspections. For any other panel, send us a photo and we will tell you your options, including whether a replacement makes sense.
That is set by your lease. Some owners cover it as part of the fit-out, others pass it to the tenant. Either way, we quote the work from the tenant's plans and add to the system already in the building.
Monitoring & Inspections
New York follows NFPA 72, which requires most fire alarm systems to be tested and inspected at least once a year. A few devices have their own schedule. We track the due dates and send reminders before each inspection is due.
We write down what failed and why. We can quote the repair, or do it at our regular time-and-materials rate, and once it is approved we make it, test again, and add the updated report to your file.
No. We set a day and time with you or your property manager, early enough to give tenants plenty of notice, and the report goes in your customer portal once it is reviewed.
Your fire and security signals are monitored 24/7 by COPS Monitoring, a UL-listed central station. We handle everything else, from service calls to inspections.
Not if you have a Fire-Lite, Silent Knight, Potter, or Honeywell fire alarm panel. We reprogram it to report to our central station, then turn on the new monitoring and confirm it is receiving signals before the old account is closed. We plan the switch so there is no gap in monitoring. Have a different panel? Send us a photo and we will tell you your options, including a replacement quote.
It can. Many insurers ask whether your alarm is monitored, and some offer a discount for it. Check with your agent.
Security
Motion detectors, door and window contacts, glass break sensors, and panic buttons, planned around your doors, windows, high-value areas, and hours. A store, a warehouse, and an office lobby all need different coverage, so we design it for how your space is used.
Yes. Different areas can be set to arm on different schedules, so the warehouse can be armed while the office is still open.
Yes. You can arm and disarm from your phone, get an alert when an alarm goes off, and give each manager control of their own site.
Yes. Send us a photo of your panel and we will tell you your options. We plan the switch so there is no gap in monitoring: the new monitoring is turned on and tested with a live signal before your old account is cancelled, on your timeline.
The central station calls the people on your contact list first, so a mistyped code does not send the police. If the alarm is real, they dispatch.
Yes. Every employee gets their own alarm code, and you can delete it the day they leave. Open and close reports show who armed and disarmed the building, by name.
Cameras
Where you will need footage: entrances, registers, loading docks, and blind spots. We pick the lens and resolution for each view, so the footage is clear enough to see who it was, not just that someone was there.
Yes. We use commercial-grade indoor and outdoor cameras, with low-light and weatherproof models where you need them.
No. You choose the areas that matter, and you get an alert when something crosses a line or enters one of them, instead of one for every car driving by.
Footage is recorded on site and kept for as long as your business needs.
Yes. You can watch live and recorded video from every location in one app, and save and share a clip.
Often, yes, if we work with that brand and the equipment is not locked to the original installer. We can reuse the wiring that is still good, replace the cameras that matter most, and tell you honestly what is worth keeping.
Access Control
You turn their access off. No changing locks. You can add, change, or remove key cards, fobs, keypad codes, and phone credentials in seconds.
Yes. Doors unlock during business hours and lock after. You can set access by role or by person, and change it from anywhere.
Yes. Every entry is logged with the person, the door, and the time. When HR, an insurer, or the police ask for the record, you can export the log.
Doors with card readers use locks that stay locked if the power goes out, so a power cut does not leave your back door open. Anyone inside can still walk out.
Yes. Every site is managed in one place from a browser, so you can add a site or move a manager without anyone driving out.
Often, yes, if we work with that brand and the equipment is not locked to the original installer. We can add doors, gates, or another location to the system you have, or get it working right. Send a few photos of your readers and controller and we will tell you your options.
Yes. Card or phone access can be tied into the gate operator, so the gate follows the same schedules and the same entry log as your doors.
Where it is required, yes. We install card readers, electric strikes, mag locks, and gate controls to code, including release on fire alarm where required.
Working With Us
Yes. We handle fire alarm, security, access control, cameras, and 24/7 monitoring. If you need more than one of them, they can go under one contract.
Yes. We install, inspect, and service your system, and COPS Monitoring, a UL-listed central station, monitors it 24/7. When something goes wrong, you call one number and reach people who already know your building.
All the time. We bid from your plans, work around your other trades, and take the fire alarm through final inspection. Send the drawings and we will bid to the spec.
We work across the Hudson Valley: Orange, Rockland, Ulster, Dutchess, Sullivan, and Putnam counties. If your building is nearby, give us a call and we will let you know if we can help.
No. New York City requires its own license, and we don't work in the five boroughs. We serve Orange, Rockland, Ulster, Dutchess, Sullivan, and Putnam counties.
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