What to Expect in an Alarm Situation

Your Trinity security system protects your home and it’s inhabitants from the following categories of alarm events: Burglary, Medical, Fire, Panic, and Duress. Continue reading to figure out what the different alarms mean, what will happen when they are triggered, and when you will use them in the event of an emergency. Being proactive about you and your family’s safety can help you prepare for the worst.

Burglary Alarm:

A burglary alarm is the most common alarm type and also the most common to cause false alarms. If you or a family member forget the system is armed and trigger a sensor such as a door sensor, or if the system is armed and an intruder triggers a sensor, the system will begin a countdown. If the system is not disarmed before the end of the countdown, an alarm will be triggered. Here is what you can expect to happen next:

1. A Trinity Central Station representative will first try to contact you through the panel and ask for the verbal passcode you set up during the activation of the system. This is different from your 4-digit PIN and may be a word, number, or combination of both.
2. If we cannot reach you through the panel, your primary contact number will be called.
3. If we cannot reach you at the first number, we will call the secondary contact number or your first emergency contact.
4. If we still have not reached you, we will dispatch the local police or guard to your home. Once dispatched, you will receive a text message.
5. After the dispatch, (if the primary and secondary weren’t contacted before dispatch) the primary, secondary, and emergency contacts will be called to notify you of the alarm and dispatch. Your verbal passcode will be required to cancel the dispatch. Once the alarm has been fully processed, an email of the alarm details will be sent.

Medical alarm:

A medical alarm is slightly different from a panic alarm and should only be used in the case of a medical emergency. You can trigger this alarm type by pushing the ‘+’ button on your panel and then holding down the emergency button for at least two seconds. You can also use a Trinity Medical Pendant to trigger this alarm type by holding down the button for at least three seconds.

1. A Trinity monitoring representative will first try to contact you through the panel to confirm the alarm. If the panel does not connect, we will call the primary contact. Due to potential risk to human life, only one attempt to contact will be made before dispatch.
2. If we cannot reach you through the panel, we will dispatch the local EMS to your home. Once dispatched, you will receive a text message.
3. After the dispatch, the primary, secondary, and emergency contacts will be called to notify you of the alarm and dispatch. Once the alarm has been fully processed, an email of the alarm details will be sent.

Fire alarm:

Fire alarms are triggered by our firefighter device’s detection of your smoke detectors high pitched frequency alarm or the panel. If you would like to send a fire alarm from the panel, you can do so by pressing the ‘+’ button on your panel and holding down the fire button for at least two seconds. However, to ensure your safety, we recommend that you exit the home immediately. In the case of a fire alarm we will proceed as follows:

1. We will first attempt to contact you through the panel, just in case it is a false alarm. If the panel does not connect, we will call the primary contact phone number on your account. Due to the potential risk to property and human lives in the event of fire, only one attempt to contact will be made before dispatch.
2. If we are unable to contact you, we will dispatch your local fire department. Once dispatched, you will receive a text message.
3. After the dispatch, the primary (if we did not call before dispatch), secondary, and emergency contacts will be called to notify you of the alarm and dispatch. Your verbal passcode will be required to cancel the dispatch. Once the alarm has been fully processed, an email of the alarm details will be sent.

Panic alarm:

A panic alarm can be triggered from the panel or a key fob. This alarm type should be used in the case of any type of emergency that does not fit the other alarm types. Triggering a panic alarm does activate a siren. The order of actions for a panic alarm are similar to that of a burglary alarm:

1. A Trinity monitoring representative will first try to contact you through the panel and ask for your verbal passcode.
2. If we cannot reach you through the panel, your primary contact number will be called.
3. If we cannot reach you at the primary number, we will dispatch the local police or guard to your home. Once dispatched, you will receive a text message.
4. After the dispatch, the primary (if we did not call before dispatch), secondary, and emergency contacts will be called to notify you of the alarm and dispatch. Your verbal passcode will be required to cancel the dispatch. Once the alarm has been fully processed, an email of the alarm details will be sent.

Duress alarm:

A duress alarm is for situations where you need emergency personnel sent to your home but don’t want to alert an intruder that you are calling for help. For example, if you are being forcibly held in your home and need to disarm your panel, you can use this code to stop the panel alarm while simultaneously alerting Trinity that you are in distress and need immediate assistance. Your Trinity system will have a default duress code programmed to the panel. If you do not remember your duress code, you can check it on your panel by accessing your users and tapping on the duress user. We recommend that you do not change this code so that Trinity can assist you. To activate a duress alarm, enter the duress code. This is what will happen:

1. An agent from our Central Station will connect to the panel and listen silently for 30 seconds for suspicious activity.
2. If suspicious activity is not heard, the monitoring agent will disconnect and dispatch the local police or guard. If suspicious activity is heard, the monitoring agent will stay on the line and have another agent dispatch the local agency.
3. After the dispatch, our monitoring agents will wait 30 minutes before attempting to contact the primary contact number on your account to notify you of the alarm and dispatch. Once the alarm has been fully processed, an email of the alarm details will be sent.

If you ever press any of the emergency buttons or trigger an alarm by accident, you will be able to enter your user code to silence the alarm. Please be ready with your verbal passcode to let us know of the false alarm when we attempt to contact you at the panel or at your emergency contact numbers. You can also text us at 276-530-2429 with your verbal passcode and notify us of the false alarm. Additionally, if authorities arrive on-site and find evidence of an actual break-in or fire, they will contact us so that we are also informed.