The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International received final approval from ANSI on August 5, 2014 for an American National Standard (ANS) that identifies revisions to the “Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP),” formerly known as the “External Alarm Interface Exchange.”

APCO/CSAA ANS 2.101.2-2014 includes technical revisions and re-designation of APCO/CSAA 2.101.1-2008. The technical revisions are incorporated in the updated IEPD. Some highlights in the revision include the addition of data elements to accommodate the introduction of a Message Broker, a standardized list of message status terminology, an expanded list of alarm event types, and the capture of an alarm service organization name. The revision conforms to the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) and the project was recently inducted into the NIEM Hall of Fame.

“The approval of revisions to the alarm exchange standard reflect on the successes experienced by the 9-1-1 PSAPs and alarm central stations that are participating in the ASAP program. As more CAD and alarm automation providers take advantage of the ASAP program, the standard continues to be key to development and implementation of the alarm interfaces, and a huge benefit to public safety,” said APCO President John Wright.

The standard can be downloaded at https://www.apcointl.org/standards/apco-standards-for-download.html.