Tag: Rich Brobst Jr.
MBFAA wants better enforcement of fire alarm inspections
March 25, 2014Tess Nacelewicz
PORTLAND, Maine—When this city instituted a new inspection sticker program for fire alarms in commercial businesses and multi-unit residences a few years ago, the industry supported it as a way to ensure public safety and create a level playing field for local fire alarm companies.But now the Maine Burglar & Fire Alarm Association says the city is not properly enforcing the inspection requirements, creating a disadvantage for companies that do follow the regulation, which Portland was the first...
CO poisonings in two states may lead to expanded detector requirements
March 12, 2014Tess Nacelewicz
YARMOUTH, Maine—Calls to expand mandates for carbon monoxide detectors in commercial buildings in New York and Maine have resulted from recent cases in those states of poisonings by the deadly gas—one of them fatal.
Fire alarm companies in both states told Security Systems News they support expansion of state CO laws
and gave suggestions on cost effective ways businesses could add detectors.
On Feb. 22 in a Long Island, N.Y. mall, 26 people were sickened at a Legal Sea Foods restaurant...
Mice and men: False alarms and blame in rural Maine
April 3, 2012Rich Miller
PARIS, Maine—A sheriff's office frustrated by the cost of responding to false alarms is taking a tougher line with alarm companies. But the companies say they are being unfairly singled out for a problem that is typically the fault of residents—human or otherwise—at rural Maine addresses.The policy, including a $150 charge for the alarm company after the third false alarm at a residence or business, was detailed in a letter sent last fall by Chief Deputy Dane Tripp to the 12 alarm...
Maine's largest city institutes new fire rules
January 18, 2011Tess Nacelewicz
PORTLAND, Maine—New training and inspection requirements for companies that install and service fire alarm systems here in Maine's largest city aren't perfect, but are a positive development for public safety and the industry, according to some industry representatives who worked with the city as it drafted the rules.
“I think it's an excellent thing to have in place. It should put everybody on a level playing field,” Mark Fuller, general manager for Protection Professionals, a...