What are differences between events, alerts and alarms in alarm industry?

What are differences between events, alerts and alarms in alarm industry?

In the alarm industry, the terms events, alerts, and alarms are often used and they have distinct meanings that are important for understanding and responding to various situations:

Events:

An event is any occurrence or change in the normal state that is detected by the security system. It doesn't necessarily indicate an emergency or require immediate attention. Examples include the arming or disarming of the system, a door opening or closing, or a scheduled test of the system's functionality.

Events are logged by the system to create a record of all activities, which can be reviewed for maintenance, to understand usage patterns, or for investigative purposes after an incident.

Alerts:

Alerts are notifications about specific events that may need attention but are not necessarily indicative of an emergency. They signal that something out of the ordinary has been detected. These can include technical issues like low battery warnings, maintenance reminders, or notifications of system tampering.

Alerts may be configured to notify the property owner or monitoring personnel via various communication channels, such as email, text messages, or app notifications.

Alarms:

Alarms indicate a high-priority event that suggests an emergency or immediate security risk, such as an intrusion, fire, or gas leak. They are designed to provoke an urgent response, whether it's from the property owner, monitoring center, or directly from emergency services. Alarms typically trigger audible sirens or bells on the premises and send a signal to the monitoring center, which then follows predefined protocols to respond to the alarm.

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