SSI logo  Hot Seat: Achieving Alarm Signal Automation
Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) is seen as a cost-
effective means of sending alarm signals directly to police and
fi re dispatchers without the need for a telephone call from an
alarm monitoring station.  Developed by the Central Station
Alarm Association (CSAA) and the Association of Public Safety
Communications Officials Int’l (APCO), the protocol is in use in
Houston, and York County and Richmond, Va., and will be
available in Illinois by the end of the year.  Ed Bonifas, vice
president of Aurora, Ill.-based Alarm Detection Systems, helped
spearhead the creation of ASAP as president of CSAA. He joins
the Hot Seat to discuss the protocol.  Why is ASAP needed?  If
you dial 911 from your home, the PSAP [Public Safety Answering
Point] populates its dispatch screen with your name and address.
All they need to do is figure out what kind of emergency you’re
having so they can send a police car, fire truck or ambulance.
When a central station calls on