Alarm Receiving Centre doors

When it comes to Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) doors, here at Secure House we have a long history of designing, manufacturing and delivering complex, often highly technical, ARC door installation projects for commercial customers across Europe.

Alarm Receiving Centres require a specific structure and operating process, as such, they demand a specific kind of door. But what are Alarm Receiving Centres and why is it so important to ensure they are correctly configured even down to the doors inside them? Find out all this and more in our latest blog post.

What is an Alarm Receiving Centre?

To understand Alarm Receiving Centres require a particular type and design of door, we must first understand what an Alarm Receiving Centres actually is.

Often referred to as an ARC, an Alarm Receiving Centre is a purpose-built facility that is tasked with monitoring multiple companies’ and buildings’ systems for triggers. The most common of those triggers are related to security and include both intruder and fire alarms.

An ARC is managed by a number of operative teams who are highly trained to monitor and react whenever an alarm is activated. These teams are responsible for handling a company’s alarm system if ever there is a fire or someone breaks in; it’s a high-pressure role as you might imagine and security for the ARC itself is paramount.

ARCs can be targeted by criminals who may be planning to commit a robbery or attack therefore they must be protected and only authorised personnel allowed to enter at any time. This is where Alarm Receiving Centre doors come in.

What is an Alarm Receiving Centre door?

An Alarm Receiving Centre door must be constructed to withstand both physical and bullet attack. At Secure House we always specify BS EN 50518-1:2019 ARC specification doors in any Alarm Receiving Centre project.

BS EN 50518-1:2019 actually refers to the British Standard that the door is required to reach to meet specific requirement i.e. that of providing physical and bullet attack protection and refers directly to the door’s “Physical Construction”.

The resistance for an ARC door must be in compliance with several classes and standards as outlined below:

• Physical Attack: EN 1627 resistance class 3 (RC3). An RC3 door must withstand “occasional or experienced perpetrators using simple tools as well as additional leverage tools” and must deliver five minutes resistance time.
• Bullet Attack: EN 1522, FB3 (minimum). An FB3 door is a steel bullet resistant door that has been tested to withstand a .357mm calibre bullet.

For improved aesthetics in ARCs, glazed areas are often included. They must also reach specific construction requirements in relation to providing protection against physical and bullet attack. For example, any glazed area in an ARC (even a window panel in a door) must be non-openable and also reach RC3 and FB3 standards as a minimum.

Are there different types of Alarm Receiving Centre doors?

As outlined above, there is a minimum standard that Alarm Receiving Centre doors must reach. There are doors that go above and beyond these standards and we have specified various other, far higher rated doors in ARCs for clients.

As with any project we undertake, our approach is totally bespoke and our solution is the same.

We will work closely with architects, site managers and construction firms that specialise in designing and building ARCs to ensure that the doors we specify and install go above and beyond and provide the ultimate level of protection for ARC teams and, of course, their clients.

For more information about Alarm Receiving Centre doors or to discuss an upcoming ARC project, please don’t hesitate to contact the Secure House head office team on 0207 859 4207 info@secure-house.co.uk