FireFighter FF345: Review

Our video review of the Encore FireFighter FF345 add-on for hard-wired smoke detector integration with your existing alarm system.

Encore Firefighter-FF345: http://alrm.gd/encore-ff345
Get Monitored! http://alrm.gd/get-monitored

The FireFighter FF345 is an audio detector that integrates high voltage, hard-wired smoke detectors. As the video discusses, having one integrated smoke detector per floor is highly recommended. With the Encore FF345 you can integrate all the other previously installed smoke detectors.

Out-of-the-box setup is relatively easy. As you follow along with the tutorial, you need to put in the battery. The FF345 comes with a back plate and mounting screws for easy mounting. As we tell you in the video, the recommended mounting is to place the FF345 on the ceiling within 3 to 6 inches from your smoke detectors.

The limitations of the Encore FireFighter FF345 is that if your smoke detectors are not integrated: meaning they do not all alarm if one rings, then the FF345 will only relay the signal for the smoke detector it is positioned near.

If you have interconnected smoke detectors, you can place the Encore unit near any one you choose. However, if they are independent smoke detectors, you should get an FF345 for each level of your home, if not for each smoke detector. The walk through will tell you more about this and the relative fire codes involved.

The video will show you how to test if your smoke detectors are integrated and hardwired or if they are single operational units. It is a simple method that you can do at any time to find out if you are unsure. Every smoke detector has a test button. You can press this button to check for interconnectivity.

To make the unit live you just have to remove the back panel and install the battery. An LED will flash from red to green to let you know that the unit is operational. In the video instruction, you will learn that the Encore FF345 just needs to be programmed into the alarm system control panel.

The FireFighter FF345 will work with virtually any smoke detector. The video guide explains why. The built-in microphone is designed to listen for the smoke detector alarm frequency specifically. As you will see, once this frequency is picked up by the FF345 microphone, the alarm is sent to the control panel which will pass on the alert to you.

While the video makes it very clear the unit is not a life-saving device, it will cause the alarm system to alert you of an emergency. Through Total Connect you can receive text and email alerts, through the siren on the panel locally, as well as central station monitoring.

You can view our other videos about the FireFighter unit that will walk you through programming the FF345 to your existing control panel. Once that is done all that is left is for you to mount the unit on the ceiling, remembering to maintain the 3 to 6 inches from your smoke detector.