No alarm activation should be considered false.
The condition which caused the alarm may be determined to be false, however, the alarm is real.

No alarm may be silenced or reset without the authorization of the Fire Department officer at the scene.
Newly annexed occupancies need to be educated about the more stringent Charlotte policy of not silencing or resetting alarms without Fire Department authorization.

• $50 1st Offense
• $200 2nd Offense
• Summons 3rd Offense

Alarm horns should be sounding or a taped message should be playing upon the arrival of the Fire Department.

Evacuation per the occupancy's plan should be initiated and continue until halted by the Fire Department Incident Commander.

Failure to evacuate:

• $50 1st Offense
• $200 2nd Offense
• Summons 3rd Offense

Alarm device activation
Strobes, horns, and fire department notification should occur immediately upon receipt of an alarm by the detection system. A backup call to 911 is recommended.

Building personnel's primary role during an alarm activation is assisting with initiation of the evacuation plan, not investigation.
Only One First Union (301 South College Street) and Bank Of America Corporate Center (101 North Tryon Street) are approved under the Pre-signal Verification Program at this time. At each of the occupancies, alarm activation may be delayed up to 180 seconds for investigation of the alarm source by building personnel. Notification to the Fire Department is immediate.

Systems placed "off line"
Systems taken "off line" must be reported to the Fire Department Communications Center at (704) 336-2441. Only the minimum possible area should be placed "off line" due to construction or maintenance.
Failure to notify the Fire Department: $50 Fine

Fire Watch
A fire watch must be performed by building personnel for all areas placed "off line". These areas must be patrolled once per hour.

Access Control
All high rise and special occupancies are required to have immediately available for the Fire Department five (5) sets of keys.

Record Keeping
Logs of all alarm activations and fire watches are required to be maintained by the occupancy staff.