Unattended buildings and plant rooms
A panel that goes into fire in an empty building sounds for nobody. The tag sends the alert to named people in real time, with the building and system named.
Fire alarm monitoring tag
The ZARC fire alarm tag tells the people responsible, wherever they are, the moment a fire panel or suppression system changes state. It reads the outputs the system already provides, such as fire, fault and discharge, or senses heat itself where there is no system to read. It runs on its own battery and radio, so it still reports when the mains and the site network are down. It is complementary monitoring; it does not replace certified signalling.
01
What it reports
The tag reports a change of state as it happens: a panel going into fire, a fault appearing, a suppression system discharging, a cylinder losing pressure. Each event typically reaches the dashboard within a second, and the reset is reported too, so the record shows how long the condition lasted.
It reads what the system already offers. Most fire panels and suppression control units provide volt-free outputs for fire, fault and discharge; the tag connects to those at survey without changing the system or its certification. Where a site has no panel at all, the tag can be built with its own heat sensing as an additional point of warning.
Fault matters as much as fire. A panel sitting in fault, or a zone left disabled after a contractor's visit, protects nothing and tells nobody. The tag reports the fault the day it appears and shows how long it has stood.
The tag is independent of the site. It carries its own battery and its own radio, so a fire that takes out the power or the network does not take out the alert.
It is complementary monitoring; it does not replace certified signalling, and it does not replace a certified alarm receiving centre connection where insurance or a standard requires one.
02
Applications
A fire system does its job on site. The tag makes sure someone off site knows it has. The uses below are the common ones.
Suppression system discharge
Gas and water mist systems protecting server rooms, switch rooms and cabinets. A discharge is reported the moment it happens, so the room is attended and the system recharged.
Suppression cylinders losing pressure
A system with low cylinders will not work when it is needed. The low-pressure output is reported the day it trips; for a continuous reading, the pressure tag is the better choice.
Panels left in fault
Faults and disabled zones that stand for weeks because the panel is in a cupboard. The tag reports each one and how long it has stood.
Sites with no monitored line
Buildings where the old telephone-line signalling has gone or was never fitted. The tag adds off-site sight of the panel where nothing else reports it.
Remote compounds and cabinets
Equipment sites nobody visits for months, where a suppression discharge would otherwise be found at the next inspection.
Suppression on vehicles and mobile plant
Systems fitted to plant and machinery, with discharge reported while the machine is still on site.
Commercial kitchens
Canopy suppression systems, where a discharge closes the kitchen and the operator needs to know at once.
Many panels, one view
Every fire panel on an estate on one dashboard, with its state, its faults and its history.
After an event
A timeline of fire, fault, discharge and reset, to the second, for the insurer and the investigation.
03
Where it can go
The tag sits beside the system it reads, or in the space it watches. Typical positions:
Beside the fire panel
Connected to the panel's fire and fault outputs.
At the suppression control unit
Connected to discharge, fault and low-pressure outputs.
In the protected room
Server rooms, switch rooms and plant rooms, where heat sensing is fitted.
Inside cabinets and enclosures
With in-cabinet suppression units.
On vehicles and plant
Beside the suppression system's control module.
Outbuildings and stores
Where there is no panel and the tag senses heat itself.
04
In the dashboard
Every tag shows the live state of the system it reads, named for the building or room it protects. Each event is logged with when it started, when it reset and how long it lasted, and panels that fault often stand out as a pattern. The full history exports for insurers, fire risk assessments and audits.
Alerts are pushed in real time and go by email or SMS, and through an app where required, to the people you name, with escalation to further contacts and separate routes in and out of hours.
- Live state of every panel and suppression system
- Fire, fault, discharge and low pressure shown separately
- Start, reset and duration of every event
- Faults and disabled zones still standing
- Systems that fault most often
- Alert routes per system, in hours and out of hours
- Every alert logged with who was told
- History exported for insurers and audits
- A tag that misses its check-in is flagged
05
Industries
Fire alarm tags are fitted wherever a fire system protects a place nobody is watching, including:
Data centres and critical infrastructure
Suppression discharge and panel state in protected rooms.
Telecoms infrastructure
Remote compounds and equipment cabinets.
Critical national infrastructure
Unmanned operational sites.
Energy and utilities
Substations, switch rooms and pumping stations.
Facilities management
Panels and faults across a portfolio.
Industrial and manufacturing
Plant, machinery and process areas.
06
Technical specification
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Reports | Fire, fault, discharge and low-pressure states, sent as they happen |
| Connection | The existing panel or suppression unit's outputs, fitted to suit the system at survey |
| States monitored | Those the system provides: fire, fault, disablement, discharge, low pressure, isolation |
| Own sensing | Heat sensing built into the tag where there is no system to read, to the requirement |
| System changes | None; the fire system and its certification are untouched |
| Alert speed | Typically within a second of the change of state |
| Timing | Activation, reset and duration recorded for every event |
| Naming | Each tag named for the system, room or building it covers |
| Alert routes | Set per tag, in hours and out of hours |
| Alert delivery | Dashboard, email or SMS; app where required |
| Recipients | Named people and groups, with escalation to further contacts |
| Gateway power loss | Raises its own platform alert |
| Check-in interval | Configurable; a silent tag is flagged |
| Dashboard | Live state, event history, durations, standing faults, systems compared; configured to your requirement |
| Records | Every event time-stamped and exportable |
| Data | Full history; UK-hosted or on servers on your own site |
| Power | Internal battery, up to five years as standard; longer with additional cells |
| Radio | 433 MHz, one-way (transmit only) |
| Radio range | Site-dependent; confirmed by site survey |
| Environment | Indoor or outdoor, enclosure specified to the location |
| Independence | Own battery and radio; reports when mains and the site network are down |
| Mounting | Beside the panel or control unit, or in the protected space |
| Enclosure | Standard or built to the site; bespoke moulding for volume orders |
| Status | Complementary monitoring; does not replace certified signalling or a certified alarm receiving centre connection |
| Charges | No per-alert, per-user or licence charges |
| Manufacture | Made to order in the UK |
| Certification | CE marked |
07
From requirement to live alerts
Requirement
Tell us which fire and suppression systems matter and what outputs they have. Where there is no system, tell us the space to be watched.
Configuration
Each tag is built to order for the outputs it will read, with names and alert routes agreed for each system.
Fitting
The tag is connected to the system's outputs at survey by a competent person, without altering the system.
Commissioning
Each state is proved through to the dashboard during the system's routine test, and alert routes are checked with the people who will receive them.
Ready to get started? Every deployment begins with a site survey.
Book a site survey08
How it reports
A change of state leaves the tag on 433 MHz radio, reaches a ZARC gateway and appears on the dashboard, typically within a second. The tag is transmit-only, with no receiver, so nothing can reach the fire system through it. The gateway has its own backup battery and raises its own alert when it loses power.
Related tags
Smoke
Stand-alone smoke detectors where there is no panel.
Alarm relay
General plant and equipment alarms.
Pressure
A continuous reading of suppression cylinder pressure.
Temperature
Heat building in a room or cabinet.
Questions we answer most.
What does the fire alarm tag do?
It reports off site the moment a fire panel or suppression system changes state, and again when it resets.
Does it replace certified fire signalling?
No. It is complementary monitoring and does not replace certified signalling or an alarm receiving centre connection where one is required.
How does it connect to a fire panel?
To the fire and fault outputs the panel already provides, fitted at survey without altering the system.
Can it report a suppression discharge?
Yes. Discharge, fault and low-pressure outputs are each reported as they happen.
Can it report a panel in fault?
Yes. A fault or a disabled zone is reported the day it appears, with how long it has stood.
What if there is no fire panel?
The tag can be built with its own heat sensing, as an additional point of warning in a space that has none.
Does it work in a power cut?
Yes. It has its own battery and radio, and the gateway has backup power.
How quickly does the alert arrive?
Typically within a second of the change of state, by email or SMS.
Can it be reached from outside?
No. The tag only transmits and has no receiver, so nothing can reach the fire system through it.
How is it different from the alarm relay tag?
The alarm relay tag takes general equipment alarms off site. This tag is built for fire panels and suppression systems and their separate fire, fault and discharge states.
How long does the battery last?
Up to five years as standard, and longer where additional cells are fitted.
Looking for something else?
We work with any sensor for any application.
Most sensing needs are met by a tag we already build, configured for your equipment. If yours needs a sensor or interface we don't list, we have the engineering to build it. Tell us what you need to measure, and we will tell you how we would do it.
Discuss your requirementDiscuss a monitoring
or alerting solution
Tell us what is happening on site, what you need to see, and the event you need to hear about. We will come back with the system that answers it.
Direct contact
Location
Venator House, Unit 9, 15-17 St Stephen's Road, Bournemouth
Dorset, BH2 6LA · VAT GB 409644484
Products contact
Contact the engineering team
Direct to the team that designs and builds the range. Tell us the equipment and the event that matters.