It is up to us as an industry to take action in making our work recognized as essential in emergency proclamations and executive orders. We are calling on an executive in your company to sign the letter below that ESA — teaming with TMA and SIA — will send on behalf of the industry to state and local officials issuing stay-in-place orders.
Dear Public Safety Leader,Â
We would like to draw your attention to the essential emergency services provided by electronic security, life safety and monitoring companies, and the security products they depend on, which act as vital communication filters and links to first responders and emergency dispatchers around the country.
In particular, alarm response centers:
• Monitor hospitals, grocery stores, banks, medical and veterinary clinics, government offices and residential and business locations
• Assist in deploying technicians to fix malfunctioning alarms or sprinkler systems, saving precious first responder resources and helping to prevent and resolve would-be catastrophes, such as a failing system in a hospital or urgent care facility
• Alert business owners or managers to potential break-ins or troubles which could leave their stores vulnerable and, if unresolved, in need of future police assistance
• Monitor and notify customers of potential carbon monoxide poisoning, fire or smoke presence and other health emergencies, potentially averting further burdens upon the health care system
• Follow industry standard best practices in conjunction with federal, state and local dispatch procedures to work to involve first responders when their assistance is needed
In times like these, the efficient deployment of emergency services is of critical importance for keeping people safe and instilling a sense of calm in the general population.
We are writing to ensure that the individuals, hospitals and businesses that depend on these services and security products for their health, safety and welfare are not adversely impacted by any governmental shelter-in-place, quarantine or similar orders.
Our specific requests:
1. Â Government policy should reflect that companies that provide these services as well as field service and dispatch (e.g., repair and installation) remain operational.
2. Â For the safety of your citizens, any shelter-in-place, quarantine, or similar order would provide an explicit exemption for electronic security, monitoring and life safety services as essential services and the manufacturing of security products as essential services.