After 60+ Years of Engineering Life Safety Systems, KCi Introduces a Platform That Doesn’t Just Transmit Alarms – It Gathers Data, Thinks, and Communicates
LOWELL, Mass., June 22, 2026 – Kingfisher Company, Inc. (KCi), a trusted leader in fire alarm communication and life safety systems since 1964, today announced the launch of KISS™ (Kingfisher Intelligent Supervising Solution) – a first-of-its-kind intelligent platform that fundamentally redefines how fire alarm and emergency communication systems operate.
KISS is not an incremental upgrade to existing fire alarm communicator technology. It is a new category of intelligent monitoring – built from the ground up to gather data that legacy systems can’t see, process it into actionable intelligence, and communicate it across multiple pathways to the people who need it most.
The announcement coincides with the launch of KCi’s redesigned website at www.kfci.com and the company’s debut of the KISS platform at the 2026 NFPA Conference & Expo, Booth #640, Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, June 22–24.
The Problem KISS Solves
For decades, fire alarm communicators have operated on a simple premise: receive a contact closure, transmit a signal. This approach was sufficient when the only requirement was getting an alarm from Point A to Point B.
But the demands on life safety systems have changed dramatically. Today’s integrators, facility managers, central station operators, and engineers need more than alarm transmission. They need:
- Visibility into what’s actually happening inside the fire alarm control panel – not just that a contact closed, but why
- Diagnostics that can identify developing issues before they become failures
- Redundancy across multiple communication pathways so that no single point of failure compromises life safety
- Data that helps them make smarter decisions about maintenance, system health, and resource allocation
Traditional communicators – even modern ones – weren’t built to deliver any of this. They remain, at their core, contact-closure-in, signal-out devices.
KISS changes that equation entirely.
Gather. Think. Communicate.™ – A New Architecture for Life Safety Communication
KISS is built on a proprietary three-pillar architecture that KCi calls Gather. Think. Communicate.
GATHER
Unlike traditional communicators that are limited to monitoring dry contact closures, KISS captures serial data directly from the fire alarm control panel. This means KISS can see panel-level information – specific device addresses, zone details, system status, and diagnostic data – that contact closures simply cannot convey.
In addition, KISS integrates IOT sensor data, aggregating environmental and system-level inputs that provide a comprehensive picture of conditions at the protected premises.
The result: for the first time, a communicator platform can tell you not just that something happened, but what happened, where it happened, and what the system conditions were when it happened.
THINK
Data without intelligence is just noise. KISS processes the information it gathers through intelligent diagnostic and analytical capabilities, transforming raw panel data and sensor inputs into actionable insights.
For integrators, this means the ability to identify and diagnose issues remotely – reducing unnecessary truck rolls and enabling faster, more informed service responses. For facility managers and EHS specialists, it means real-time visibility into system health without waiting for a service report. For central station operators, it means receiving richer, more detailed alarm and supervisory data that enables better decision-making.
COMMUNICATE
KISS communicates across multiple redundant pathways – including radio, cellular, and IP – ensuring that critical information reaches its destination regardless of any single pathway disruption.
But KISS doesn’t just transmit alarms. It delivers real-time system status, supervisory signals, diagnostic reports, and actionable alerts to integrators, central stations, facility managers, and other authorized stakeholders – each receiving the information most relevant to their role.
This multi-path, multi-stakeholder communication model represents a fundamental departure from the one-signal, one-destination approach that has defined fire alarm communication for decades.
Who KISS Is Built For
KISS was designed to serve the full ecosystem of professionals who design, install, monitor, manage, and maintain fire alarm and life safety systems.
Integrators and Installers
The traditional communicator model creates unnecessary complexity for integrators. Limited inputs, proprietary restrictions, and lack of diagnostic visibility mean more callbacks, more truck rolls, and more time spent troubleshooting problems that could have been identified remotely.
KISS gives integrators direct access to serial panel data and remote diagnostics – reducing service costs, improving response times, and enabling proactive system management that builds long-term client relationships.
Central Station Operators
Central stations have historically received the bare minimum of information from fire alarm communicators – a contact closure that says “alarm” or “trouble” without context. This forces operators to make critical decisions with incomplete data.
KISS delivers richer, more detailed signals across redundant communication pathways, giving central station operators the information they need to respond more effectively and the communication reliability they need to maintain uninterrupted service.
Facility Managers
Facility managers are responsible for the operational readiness of life safety systems but often lack real-time visibility into system status. They depend on periodic inspections and service reports – a reactive model that leaves gaps between visits.
KISS provides facility managers with real-time system health information, enabling proactive maintenance planning and reducing the risk of unexpected system issues that compromise building safety and drive up costs.
EHS Specialists and Engineers
Environmental health and safety professionals and engineers need data – not assumptions – to make decisions about life safety system performance and compliance. KISS delivers the granular, real-time system data that supports informed decision-making and documentation.
Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs)
AHJs benefit from the enhanced data integrity, multi-path communication redundancy, and comprehensive reporting capabilities that KISS provides, supporting more effective oversight of fire alarm communication systems within their jurisdictions.
Built on 60 Years of Life Safety Engineering
Kingfisher Company, Inc. was founded in 1964 with a singular mission: engineer life safety communication systems that protect people and property. Over six decades, KCi has built a reputation for reliability, innovation, and uncompromising quality – earning the trust of military installations across the Department of War as well as municipal fire departments and commercial facilities nationwide.
KISS and IOT represents the culmination of that 60-year legacy – and the beginning of a new chapter.
“KISS and IOT is our biggest leap yet. We’re not improving the communicator – we’re replacing the concept of what a communicator should be. This platform gives integrators, facility managers, and central station operators access to data and intelligence that simply didn’t exist before.” said Mario Bulhoes, President of Kingfisher Company, Inc. The industry has accepted limitations in fire alarm communication that shouldn’t exist. KISS eliminates them.”
Certifications and Compatibility
KISS is FCC, UL, and FM certified and is backward compatible with existing KCi infrastructure – enabling current KCi customers to integrate KISS into their existing systems without requiring full system replacement.
See KISS Live at NFPA 2026
KCi will demonstrate the full KISS platform at Booth #640 during the 2026 NFPA Conference & Expo, June 22–24 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
To schedule a product demonstration, learn more about KISS, or explore partnership opportunities, visit info.kfci.com/kiss or contact the KCi team directly.
Read the full announcement: https://info.kfci.com/kiss
About Kingfisher Company, Inc.
Founded in 1964, Kingfisher Company, Inc. (KCi) is a leading manufacturer of fire alarm communication and life safety systems headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts. Trusted across DoW installations as well as municipal and commercial facilities nationwide, KCi delivers FCC, UL, and FM certified solutions including radio, IoT, and IP-based transmitters, receivers, addressable devices, mass notification systems, and monitoring software. For more than six decades, KCi has set the standard for reliability, innovation, and mission-critical performance in life safety communication. Learn more at www.kfci.com.
Media Contact:
Robert Rudolph
Channel Manager
Kingfisher Company, Inc.
[email protected]
978-596-0214
