Empty and void buildings
Detectors in a building with nobody in it. The tag sends the alarm to the keyholder and the managing agent in real time.
Smoke alarm monitoring tag
The ZARC smoke alarm tag tells people off site that a smoke detector has triggered. A stand-alone detector sounds in the room and nowhere else; the tag reads its output and sends the alert to the people who can act. Where there is no detector to read, the tag can sense smoke itself. It runs on its own battery and radio. It is complementary monitoring alongside certified detection, never in place of it.
01
What it reports
The tag reports the moment a detector goes into alarm and again when it clears, with the time and the duration. Each event typically reaches the dashboard within a second.
It reads the detector's own output: the relay base or interconnect that many mains and battery detectors provide. The detector stays as it is and keeps doing its job in the room.
Where a space has no detector, or the detector has no output, the tag is built with its own smoke sensing. That adds a point of warning to a space that had none; it does not turn the space into one protected by a certified system.
The value is distance. Smoke in an occupied house wakes someone. Smoke in an empty building, a locked plant room or a cabin at night wakes nobody unless the alert leaves the site.
The tag is complementary monitoring; it does not replace certified signalling or certified smoke detection, and it is not a substitute for the alarms the law requires in homes and workplaces.
02
Applications
Smoke alarms are everywhere; someone listening is not. The uses below are the common ones.
Plant rooms, risers and outbuildings
Spaces beyond the reach of the main fire panel, with a stand-alone detector that nobody would hear.
Site cabins and temporary buildings
Offices, stores and welfare units on sites that are empty overnight.
Electrical and comms cupboards
Smoke from failing equipment, reported while it is still a smell and not yet a fire.
Battery charging areas
Rooms and bays where vehicle, tool and cycle batteries charge unattended.
Schools and offices out of hours
Detectors outside the main system in stores, kitchens and annexes.
Managed and supported housing
An extra line of sight for a landlord or housing provider, alongside the alarms tenants already have.
Farm buildings and stores
Barns, workshops and stores away from the house.
Heritage and seasonal buildings
Buildings closed for months at a time, where a fire found late is a building lost.
After an event
A record of when the alarm started and cleared, for the insurer.
03
Where it can go
The tag sits with the detector it reads, or in the space it watches. Typical positions:
Beside a detector
Connected to its relay base or interconnect output.
On the ceiling
Where the tag senses smoke itself, positioned as a detector would be.
Plant rooms and risers
Near electrical and mechanical plant.
Cabins and stores
One per unit, fitted and removed with the unit.
Cupboards and enclosures
Inside comms and electrical cupboards.
Charging areas
Above racks and bays where batteries charge.
04
In the dashboard
Every tag shows its live state, alarm or normal, named for the room or building it covers. Each alarm is logged with when it started, when it cleared and how long it lasted. Detectors that trigger often, from steam, dust or cooking, stand out and can be dealt with. The history exports for insurers 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 detector, named for its room
- Alarm start, clear and duration
- Alerts on alarm and on clear
- Detectors that trigger most often
- Alert routes per building, in hours and out of hours
- Every alert logged with who was told
- Buildings and sites on one view
- History exported for insurers and audits
- A tag that misses its check-in is flagged
05
Industries
Smoke alarm tags are fitted wherever a detector sounds in a place nobody is, including:
Facilities management
Plant rooms, risers and outbuildings.
Buildings and estates
Empty units and managed housing.
Construction and temporary works
Cabins and stores overnight.
Local government and public sector
Schools, depots and public buildings.
Telecoms infrastructure
Equipment rooms and cabins.
Healthcare
Stores, annexes and plant areas.
06
Technical specification
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Reports | Smoke alarm and clear, sent as they happen |
| Connection | The detector's relay base or interconnect output, fitted to suit the detector |
| Own sensing | Smoke sensing built into the tag where there is no detector to read, to the requirement |
| Detector changes | None; the existing detector is 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, alarm history, durations, frequent triggers, buildings compared; configured to your requirement |
| Records | Every alarm and clear 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 detector, or on the ceiling where the tag senses smoke |
| Enclosure | Standard or built to the site; bespoke moulding for volume orders |
| Works alongside | Certified smoke detection and fire alarm systems |
| Status | Complementary monitoring; does not replace certified signalling or certified smoke detection |
| 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 spaces matter and what detectors are already there. That decides whether each tag reads a detector or senses smoke itself.
Configuration
Each tag is built to order, named for its room, with alert routes agreed for each building.
Fitting
The tag is fixed beside the detector or on the ceiling in minutes. No mains wiring.
Commissioning
Each detector is tested through to the dashboard, 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
An alarm leaves the tag on 433 MHz radio, reaches a ZARC gateway and appears on the dashboard, typically within a second. The tag only transmits; it has no receiver. It needs no connection to the building's network or power, so it keeps reporting from a building that is shut down.
Related tags
Fire
Fire panels and suppression systems.
Alarm relay
General plant and equipment alarms.
Temperature
Heat building before smoke appears.
Carbon monoxide (CO)
The other product of burning.
Questions we answer most.
What does the smoke alarm tag do?
It tells named people off site that a smoke detector has triggered, and again when it clears.
Does it replace a smoke alarm or fire alarm system?
No. It is complementary monitoring alongside certified detection, never in place of it.
How does it read a detector?
Through the relay base or interconnect output that many detectors provide. The detector itself is not altered.
What if the detector has no output?
The tag can be built with its own smoke sensing, as an additional point of warning.
Why fit one in an empty building?
A stand-alone detector sounds only in the room. The tag sends the alarm to people who can act on it.
How quickly does the alert arrive?
Typically within a second of the alarm, by email or SMS.
Does it need mains power or Wi-Fi?
No. It runs on an internal battery and reports by radio to a ZARC gateway.
Can it show false alarms?
Yes. Detectors that trigger often show as a pattern, so steam, dust or cooking can be dealt with.
How is it different from the fire alarm tag?
The fire alarm tag reads fire panels and suppression systems. This tag reads stand-alone smoke detectors where there is no panel.
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.