Fire Alarm System Components: The Elements of Your Project

Providing service in five New England states, R.B. Allen has sold and installed more Digitize systems than any other distributor. Their services also go beyond the centralized fire protection systems offered by Digitize. They are comprehensive suppliers of fire protection systems, from addressable fire alarm systems, control panels, and more.

RB Allen is a well-established Digitize fire protection distributor covering 5 states.

All Digitize distributors must match our same high level of service

As a full-service manufacturer building in the US, we set a high standard for service every time we sell direct. We mandate the same level of service from any distributor that represents our product line.

RB Allen does an excellent job with service quality, and they actually have a broader scope that goes beyond Digitize products and installations alone.

RB Allen will work with you to select and install your fire alarm system

There are a variety of legal requirements in play any time you’re working with fire alarms. That’s why it’s so important to choose a good vendor.

RB Allen has the expertise required to walk you through a complete system, including and beyond the Digitize equipment that may be involved.

They will help you to design a compliant system, submit it for review, and secure approval.

Next, RB Allen can perform a complete installation of your fire alarm system.

RB Allen will perform routine preventive maintenance and testing

As common as it is to lose sight of protective remote monitoring technology during an initial installation, it’s even easier to lose sight of routine maintenance that is both important and required by regulations.

Once your system is installed, RB Allen is available to provide ongoing maintenance. All of their technicians have licenses and factory certifications, which includes training and certification from Digitize.

Certified technicians are available to:

• Inspect your fire alarms, including standardized testing and the resolution of any discovered problems.
• Inspect fire sprinklers and maintain related components like hydrants and pumps.
• Maintain fire barrier doors, emergency exit lighting, fire suppression systems, wall-mounted portable fire extinguishers.
• Assess whether your various fire alarm components have enough clarity (“intelligibility”) to be readily understood during a stressful emergency.
• Provide emergency 7x24x365 service at any time. With this option, you simply place a call to the call center to speak with an on-call technician. Any issue that cannot resolved over the phone with trigger a visit to your facility, no matter what day or hour it is.

Multiple other programs will save you money after your purchase

If you value the budget certainty of extended warranty coverage, RB Allen offers this option for many different product lines that they represent.

Similarly, you can sign up for a service contract to receive reduced service rates when needed in the future. This is just one more way to reduce the risk of unplanned future expenses.

As simple as it sounds, the fact that RB Allen maintains a repository of manufacturer reference material can save you big labor time during upgrades, maintainance, or recovery periods. We all understand the difference between crawling in the dark without a user manual and having clear, well-written documentation.

Smoke detectors, which can often technically and legally continue operating with a bit of refurbishment, can be serviced and re-installed by RB Allen technicians. This saves you money compared to buying brand new detectors throughout your buildings to meet smoke detection requirements for life safety.

Finally, RB Allen has a spare-parts inventory program available. When you sign up, an allocation of spare parts for your specific system will be held in inventory. Those parts stay out of your way, and you don’t have to think about them.

In an emergency failure situation, you won’t have to suffer with long wait times or (via special order) extra expenses. RB Allen will have the parts you need, and can quickly arrive to install them for you.

Serving all of New England for 50+ years

Since 1966, RB Allen has installed thousands and thousands of systems across New England in:

• Massachusetts
• Rhode Island
• New Hampshire
• Vermont
• Maine

Industries served include:

• Hospitals and other health care
• City & county governments
• Electrical contactors
• Architecture & engineering
• Building management
• Factories & other manufacturing
• Education: School districts & universities
• Manufacturing & industrial
• DoD (Department of Defense)
• Many more...

Don’t undervalue a singular focus on fire alarms

For any specialized technology with many rules and regulations, one of the most important things you can do is to choose a true expert. It’s tempting to choose a “jack of all trades” company that claims to do everything well. One-stop shopping does have a lot of appeal.

When it comes to fire alarms, you really want a company that focuses exclusively on that subject. They’re going to be on top of recent changes in regulations and offer you the equipment and service required to respond.

It’s not that a general-services company is going to be bad at fire alarms. It’s simply that a company with a singular focus like RB Allen will be better.

In my work with RB Allen, I’ve been continually impressed by the depth of their work with changes in fire codes and regulations. They have many pages on their website that describe recent changes in the NFPA rules. Even small details like “the inspection rules from Chapter 14 have now been moved to Chapter 10 in this new edition” get caught and reported for your reference.

Remember, of course, that your general contracting company might use the services of a specialist like RB Allen as part of a bundled offering. In that case, it’s perfectly acceptable to gain the turn-key advantage of a one-stop shop.

Give Digitize a call to discuss your options

Any time you have an active project, the best thing you can do is speak with an expert. At Digitize, we’re ready to speak with you about what you’re trying to accomplish with your fire alarm system.

At some point in our conversation, if you’re in RB Allen’s New England service territory, we’ll probably connect you with one of their representatives.

In fact, no matter where you’re located, we’ll often connect you with a local distributor and service company if you want more of a turn-key solution than we can directly provide. We maintain an extensive distributor network precisely so you can get local service in your region.

To get started with your project, give me a call at 800-523-7232 or email me at info@digitize-inc.com. If you’re in New England and would like to give RB Allen a call directly, I also encourage you to do that via the phone number on their website.

Andrew Erickson

Andrew Erickson is an Application Engineer at DPS Telecom, a manufacturer of semi-custom remote alarm monitoring systems based in Fresno, California. Andrew brings more than 17 years of experience building site monitoring solutions, developing intuitive user interfaces and documentation, and...Read More