Emergency Fire Protection Call Centers: What to Look for & What to Avoid

Have you ever had a commercial fire protection system failure during hours of operation at your retail store, warehouse, or restaurant and you didn’t know who to call? Did you jump online to find help only to get someone in a fire protection call center with a language barrier or one who patched you through to someone else while you waited on hold?  

Not All Fire Emergency Call Centers are Equal: Read This First!

When you have a fire sprinkler or fire suppression malfunction or a water leak in your retail store, grocery store, big box store, restaurant, or distribution center, there is no time to waste. You need a quick resolution. To help you find the right emergency fire call center, our resources will tell you everything you need to know:

• What to look for in call centers
• Why to avoid 3rd party call centers
• How to reduce the chance of having an emergency in the first place

What to Look for in Fire Protection Call Centers

When you search for a fire protection company and emergency fire safety services, take a few extra minutes to learn whether the companies you’re considering offer reputable, full-service, and fast emergency fire systems help – if they do not, keep searching. Fire protection issues and water leaks are not something to take lightly – you could risk the safety of your building’s occupants.

To locate the right emergency fire protection help, make sure the company you’re considering:

1. Provides true 24/7/365 emergency help with everything fire protection related.
2. Answers their own phones with trained fire emergency staff – no third-party call centers.
3. Has the ability to troubleshoot and talk you through a temporary solution while a licensed technician is dispatched to your location.
4. Exhibits proven, in-depth experience in all areas of fire protection systems and equipment.
5. Works with nationwide vendor partners who service ALL fire protection equipment including fire suppression systems and fire sprinklers in every multi-site location, all under one umbrella.
6. Offers a fire protection services and repair guarantee.
7. Creates and stores electronic records of repairs for easy reference and code compliance.
8. Guarantees your privacy; doesn’t inhibit your business activities or needlessly alarm occupants.
9. Displays verified customer referrals and reviews relating to their emergency services.

If a fire protection company is not able to fulfill all nine of these particularly important conditions, move on until you find one that does.

Fire Protection – Why to Avoid 3rd Party Call Centers

Locating an emergency fire protection company through a call center is tricky. The majority of fire protection companies advertise national capabilities with 24/7 call centers, maintenance, repair, and emergency services, but this is often deceiving.

Most companies use contractors who are unaffiliated with their company, yet claim their staff does it all. This can lead to a different person servicing or repairing your fire equipment at any given time, without a guarantee. In case of emergency, you need to know the technician you’re dealing with is certified and licensed and 100% backed by the company you called.

To avoid any confusion, ensure the fire safety company confirms that the work will be done by a known vendor partner, that it’s guaranteed, and that you’ll be dealing only with their customer service staff for questions, invoicing, and follow-up (not the contractor).

Other reasons to avoid fire protection third-party call centers:

1. Language and cultural barriers. Overseas call center representatives lack cultural knowledge, fluency, and the communication skills needed to provide excellent fire safety support.
2. Decreased control over the emergency. Fire safety in a stranger’s hands who knows nothing about fire protection and how to troubleshoot can lead to excess property damage and increased safety issues.
3. Lack of accuracy and knowledge. How do you know if the untrained call center person you’re speaking to is giving you the correct information? They are often given a script to follow.
4. Deficient communication and miscommunication. Call center representatives must relay your emergency to a service provider correctly; this is challenging when there is lack of fire protection expertise.
5. Once a fire protection contractor is finally dispatched, how will you know if he or she is licensed and knows NFPA and local AHJ codes? Who will hold the technician accountable if something isn’t done correctly?
6. Hidden costs. With most fire safety emergencies answered by a third-party call center, you will end up with one invoice from the technician and another from the fire protection company.
7. Security and privacy. Overseas call center agents are not subject the same background checks that US-based agents are. Thus, confidential information may be less secure.

When it comes to keeping up with commercial fire protection requirements and managing fire system equipment and water emergencies, you need AIE, the only single-source, national fire protection and life-safety team who is always only one call away, 24/7/365 – even on holidays.

How to Prevent Fire Protection & Fire Safety Systems Emergencies

The most reliable way to avoid commercial fire safety equipment and water leak emergencies is to take a preventative approach to fire protection. We know – accidents and emergencies can happen even in the best of circumstances – but to minimize the risk, prevention through inspections is your best option.

AIE provides quarterly, annual, five, ten, and 20-year fire equipment and fire sprinkler systems inspections, as well as water supply testing at nationwide, multi-site retail, distribution, warehouse, restaurant, hotel, and other commercial facilities. If we find anything that poses a potential risk, we provide solutions to get all fire systems repaired and up to code quickly.