Before the out-of-office replies go out, make sure the people covering your property know who to call, what to report and where to find the information they’ll need.
Think about the facility manager who normally works with your fire protection service team. They may coordinate inspections, arrange access for repairs or know the history of a problem with the building’s fire alarm system.
Now they’re taking two weeks off for the holidays, and another employee will cover the building.
If a fire protection system concern is reported during that time, does the replacement know what they’re responsible for?
Your holiday staffing schedule may show who’s working without explaining the responsibilities that normally belong to someone who’s away.
That’s worth discussing before the schedule changes.
1. Confirm Who's Covering Fire Protection Responsibilities
Start with what happens at your property during a normal week.
Who receives information about fire alarm system concerns? Who coordinates with the sprinkler or fire alarm service provider? Who keeps track of outstanding repairs and upcoming appointments?
At one property, a facility manager may handle nearly all of that communication. At another, several employees may share the responsibilities.
Before regular contacts leave, ask them to explain what they’ll be handing off.
Someone covering the building needs to know about unresolved system concerns, scheduled service work and any procedures they’ll be expected to follow.
Then consider the backup arrangement.
If the employee covering the building calls out unexpectedly, who’s next? Does that person know they’ve been assigned the responsibility?
Discuss the arrangement with the people involved rather than assuming everyone understands what the schedule means.
2. Check How System Concerns Will Be Reported
Fire alarm systems can report different kinds of conditions, and the information needs to reach the appropriate people.
A trouble condition indicates a fault involving the fire alarm system. A supervisory condition can indicate an abnormal condition involving monitored equipment, such as a sprinkler valve.
The property’s established procedures and service arrangements determine how those reports should be handled.
Ask the employees covering the building how they would receive a reported concern, whom they would notify and what information they’d need to pass along.
An alarm activation requires a separate discussion. Staff must follow the property’s emergency procedures and should never assume an activation is a malfunction. Contacting a service provider doesn’t replace required emergency action.
If the property is already managing a system impairment or an established fire watch arrangement, make sure authorized staff understand the approved procedures that apply.
3. Verify Contacts Before Regular Staff Leave
Consider a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.
It’s 3 a.m. on Dec. 24, and a fire alarm system trouble condition has been reported. Under the hotel’s monitoring arrangements, an authorized property representative needs to be contacted.
The regular facility manager is away for Christmas.
Who receives that communication?
The hotel may have another employee covering the building, but the monitoring provider could still have the regular facility manager’s contact information.
Your internal staffing schedule and a provider’s authorized contact records are separate arrangements.
Before holiday coverage begins, review the contact information held by your fire protection service and alarm monitoring providers. Those may be different organizations, and the person coordinating a service appointment may have different responsibilities from the person designated to receive a monitoring notification.
Find out how each provider handles authorized contact changes. Submit any necessary updates through the appropriate process and confirm they were received.
The employees being listed should also understand why they might be contacted and what they’re expected to do with the information.
4. Make Sure the Information Is Accessible
Picture the person covering your building receiving a call about a reported system concern.
They understand the message, but the regular facility manager is away, and nobody knows where the latest service records are kept.
That can make it difficult to determine what has already been addressed and who is responsible for the next step.
Before the holidays, check that authorized staff can find the building’s relevant procedures, service records and information about unresolved concerns.
During your next morning briefing, give the coverage team a hypothetical situation. Ask someone to explain how they would handle it under the property’s existing procedures.
If two employees have different understandings of who’s responsible, work through the question with the appropriate person while regular staff are still available.
Write down anything that needs verification, assign someone to follow up and share the confirmed answer with the team.
Questions for Your Next Morning Briefing
Before holiday coverage begins, ask:
- Who’s responsible for fire protection communications while regular staff are away? Does that person understand the assignment?
- Who takes over if the first backup is unavailable? Have we confirmed that arrangement directly?
- Do our service and monitoring providers have the correct authorized contacts? Have any updates been confirmed?
- Can the coverage team find the procedures and records they’ll need?
- What information is missing?
What still needs an answer? Who will follow up before the holiday schedule begins?
Have the Conversation Before Holiday Hours Begin
The people who normally coordinate your property’s fire and life safety matters deserve time off during the holidays, too.
Before they leave, make sure their replacements understand what they’re responsible for, how system concerns reach the property and who needs to be involved when something requires attention.
A conversation during a routine morning briefing gives everyone time to compare their understanding and resolve questions before holiday coverage begins.
Review Holiday Coverage With Your Team
Use the questions above during your next property briefing or shift handoff. Confirm the primary and backup contacts, review your existing procedures and follow up with the appropriate service or monitoring provider on anything that still needs an answer.
If State Systems services your property’s fire protection systems, contact our team before holiday coverage begins to review service-related questions and confirm the appropriate process for any account updates. If a separate provider handles alarm monitoring, confirm monitoring contacts directly with that provider.
