Anyone who is, or has been a designated keyholder for their business, will almost certainly have a story to tell about how they were summoned to a call-out at a most inappropriate time – whilst they were at a wedding reception, at 4 o’clock in the morning or in the middle of a business meeting.
Usually, it will have proven to be a false alarm – after all, security alarms act as a major deterrent to any break-ins – but any impromptu call-out can inevitably mean a mixture of inconvenience, annoyance and even an element of dread.
Keyholding can be a thankless task!
What can make life a lot easier, however, is knowing you have support close at hand – something which we would always strongly advocate.
What is meant by keyholding?
The job of keyholding usually falls on the boss of the company, or a senior trusted member of staff who would be responsible for opening and closing the premises at the beginning and end of the working day. The keyholder is expected to be the first point of contact in the event of an emergency – such as the alarm being triggered out of hours or a smoke alarm going off. Within every company, it’s always advisable to have at least one designated keyholder. In larger companies, keyholders can be on a designated rota, so that it doesn’t always fall on the shoulders of one individual.
What happens if you are a keyholder?
Whilst not all companies work in this way, at Justice Fire & Security we always advise that your intruder or fire alarm system is connected to our accredited monitoring station, so that you aren’t left to deal with the incident alone or you are left unsupported. The most appropriate level of monitoring would be discussed with you at the time that your system is installed.
As a rule of thumb, however, any time an alarm is activated at your premises outside of hours, our monitoring station will immediately contact your nominated keyholder or keyholders. If the keyholders cannot be reached, the monitoring station will automatically notify the police or fire service for a direct response.
Why is site monitoring important for keyholders?
Support and Peace of Mind
First and foremost, it means you don’t have to deal with the incident alone. You have eyes and ears there to assist you. Most business owners or homeowners don’t want to be saddled with dealing with an intruder alarm without knowing there is a fast response system in place.
Within seconds of your alarm being activated, you or your nominated keyholders will be contacted by our monitoring station. And if two or more detectors are set off, this will automatically trigger an emergency service response.
Insurance Incentives
You should be able to be able to benefit from discounts from your insurance company if you have a monitored intruder or fire alarm system in place.
Keyholding and alarm response in Birmingham, the West and East Midlands
If you are a keyholder of an intruder alarm system, which is not currently connected to a reliable monitoring station, or you would like further clarity about how you can outsource your current areas of responsibility, Justice Fire & Security is here to help. We have put in place a highly professional, fully coordinated system to ensure that all designated commercial and residential keyholders receive the necessary level of support.
For further information, call our main switchboard on 0845 468 0927.
