Fire alarm systems are required to wait a minimum of one hour before reporting a power outage to the central station. This code has been in effect since the 1993 edition of NFPA 72, the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code.
Because of a requirement to have more than 24 hours of standby battery, there is no reason to notify anyone immediately upon loss of primary power.  The batteries shall continue to operate the system in normal condition for 24 hours, and then sound the alarm for at least 4 minutes (residential, 5 minutes for commercial general notification, and 15 minutes for voice evacuation).
Despite this code, many fire alarm systems report power failures and fire troubles from other sensors caused by power failures immediately, requiring phone calls from your monitoring station to you during thunderstorms and other power failures.
If you are tired of dealing with the fallout of a non-compliant fire alarm system, we would be honored to help bring your current system into compliance or replace your old, out dated system with something that works properly and meets code.
Guard Tronic
Proven Property Protection Since 1959
(800) 542-7866
info@guardtronic.com