CMS' Commitment To Customer Safety During Hurricane Idalia

It is likely that a number of Alarm Grid customers will be affected by Hurricane Idalia, particularly in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, based on current modeling. Our monitoring partner, CMS, let us know what steps they were taking to prepare for the storm. We'll lay them out below.

At approximately 5:00 am Wednesday, August 30 Hurricane Idalia became a Category 4 hurricane. According to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, a Category 4 rating means winds of 130 - 158 MPH (209 - 251 km/hr). At these speeds, catastrophic damage will likely occur in some areas. Well-built frame structures will likely sustain damage, in some cases extensive damage, to roofs and exterior walls. Trees may snap, or be uprooted, and power poles may also snap. Power outages can be widespread and prolonged.

In response to the expected surge in activity surrounding Hurricane Idalia, CMS has implemented the following measures:

Increased Staffing:

At the Longwood, FL and Manasquan, NJ locations, CMS has increased staffing for the duration of this weather event. In spite of this fact, there is still the possibility that callers to the monitoring station may experience longer than normal hold times.

Partitioning by Location:

Per CMS, "In order to more effectively manage alarm traffic, the CMS Operations team will be transitioning all accounts located in the affected areas to a storm partition. Please understand first responders will no longer respond to dispatches from CMS once sustained winds reach 45 mph." This is a policy of the responding agencies and is outside of CMS or Alarm Grid's control.

Redundancy:

Redundancy is baked into CMS' infrastructure. This is not a special storm-related preparation, but a 24/7/365 way of life. CMS operates three (3) separate monitoring centers in Florida, New Jersey, and California. All are UL-Listed and FM (Factory Mutual) approved. These monitoring centers are connected to one another with the latest in communication technology. This allows CMS to load-balance any increase in activity. It also removes the possibility of a single point of failure taking down operations.

If any of the three (3) centers experience a disaster, each center is backed up by two (2) generators as well as uninterruptable power supplies. Any of the three centers can reroute alarm traffic to the other two centers if the need arises.

Experience:

With over 35 years in business, being founded and headquartered in Florida, and with one of their monitoring centers being located in Florida, CMS operators have seen a lot! They've experienced hurricanes, both personally and in their profession. They are dedicated to keeping their dealers, their customers, and their employees safe.