Alarm Systems

Alarm Processors

The alarm processor for most Forest Service facilities will be located in a secured room inside the facility. Forest Service employees do not need to have access to the alarm processor. It is a box that hangs on the wall and has cables or conduit attached. It is the brain of a facility’s alarm system. Its cover must be protected from tampering.

The alarm processor is designed to:

• Provide an interface (such as a keypad or a key-operated switch) for persons authorized to “secure” and “access” the alarm system
  
  
• Receive the signals from all the sensors and interpret them according to instructions programmed into the processor
  
  
• Monitor tamper and sensor links for tampering and trouble conditions
  
  
• Activate or deactivate equipment (warning sirens, lights, video switches, sprinkler systems, and so forth)
  
  
• Forward alarm conditions to a central monitoring station over a protected link