False alarms are the bane of the security system industry. Not only do false alarms eat up police and fire resources, but they can also mean significant municipal fines for home and business owners who find themselves dealing with fire and burglar alarm systems that are frequently tripped by accident.
Let’s take a look at the top five ways you can avoid a false alarm at home or at work.
1) Education. It’s critical to ensure that everyone in your home, or every employee at your place of business, is fully trained in how to arm, disarm, and otherwise operate your security and fire systems. The most common type of false alarm occurs when someone forgets that the system is armed when he enters a building, or can’t remember his access code. It’s also important that everyone involved knows how to contact the alarm system provider, if necessary, in order to deal with a malfunctioning system.
2) Repairs and Maintenance. A broken window sensor, an old smoke detector, a ragged wire attached to a door sensor – these are all easy-to-repair items that can be responsible for triggering a false alarm at the central monitoring station if they’re not fixed. If you don’t feel like you have the expertise required to take care of a suspected problem, then contact your installer as soon as possible so that a technician can be dispatched and the issue corrected. Keeping smoke detectors and motion sensors clean from dust and other gunk is also critical.
3) Testing. Does your home security system provider offer timer testing to ensure that communication between the central monitoring facility and your location is working properly? Has your fire alarm system been properly tested, on schedule, according to local and national regulations? Simple tests performed on a regular basis can help identify any potential problems with equipment before they trigger false alarms.
4) Plan for Pets. It happens on a regular basis: a homeowner has an alarm system installed, and then later on brings a new dog or cat home only to have the animal trip the motion sensors and cause a false alarm. Make sure to upgrade your motion sensors to pet-friendly units so you can avoid having this happen to you.
5) Have More Than One Method For Deactivating The System. Did your home security system come with a remote control? Do you know where it is? Does your business alarm system offer a mobile app? Have you installed it and been shown how to use it? Take advantage of your system’s multiple access points and use them as fallbacks should you, a family member, or an employee have trouble deactivating a false alarm from the primary keypad.
Top 3 Fire Escape Safety Tips
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamWhat’s the most important thing to do as soon as you know that your home is on fire?
If you answered “evacuate immediately,” you get a gold star – getting yourself and your loved ones out of a burning building is the number one priority in the event of a fire.
Despite this fact, most people don’t stop to think about the best way to rapidly leave their homes – especially if the home fire alarm system goes off in the middle of the night when most of the family is likely to be sleeping. Knowing where your exits are – and the quickest way to get to them – are two of the most important fire safety tips that you, your spouse, your children, and your guests should be aware of.
In honor of National Fire Prevention week, October 7-13, 2012, here are three important tips to help you and your loved ones get out of harm’s way as quickly as possible in the event of a fire. Read more →
Top 5 Ways To Avoid False Alarms
/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging TeamLet’s take a look at the top five ways you can avoid a false alarm at home or at work.
1) Education. It’s critical to ensure that everyone in your home, or every employee at your place of business, is fully trained in how to arm, disarm, and otherwise operate your security and fire systems. The most common type of false alarm occurs when someone forgets that the system is armed when he enters a building, or can’t remember his access code. It’s also important that everyone involved knows how to contact the alarm system provider, if necessary, in order to deal with a malfunctioning system.
2) Repairs and Maintenance. A broken window sensor, an old smoke detector, a ragged wire attached to a door sensor – these are all easy-to-repair items that can be responsible for triggering a false alarm at the central monitoring station if they’re not fixed. If you don’t feel like you have the expertise required to take care of a suspected problem, then contact your installer as soon as possible so that a technician can be dispatched and the issue corrected. Keeping smoke detectors and motion sensors clean from dust and other gunk is also critical.
3) Testing. Does your home security system provider offer timer testing to ensure that communication between the central monitoring facility and your location is working properly? Has your fire alarm system been properly tested, on schedule, according to local and national regulations? Simple tests performed on a regular basis can help identify any potential problems with equipment before they trigger false alarms.
4) Plan for Pets. It happens on a regular basis: a homeowner has an alarm system installed, and then later on brings a new dog or cat home only to have the animal trip the motion sensors and cause a false alarm. Make sure to upgrade your motion sensors to pet-friendly units so you can avoid having this happen to you.
5) Have More Than One Method For Deactivating The System. Did your home security system come with a remote control? Do you know where it is? Does your business alarm system offer a mobile app? Have you installed it and been shown how to use it? Take advantage of your system’s multiple access points and use them as fallbacks should you, a family member, or an employee have trouble deactivating a false alarm from the primary keypad.
Owning a Guard Dog Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Need a Security System
/2 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging TeamWhile it is true that a guard dog does offer a certain degree of protection against thieves for a home or business, it’s far from the most effective method of keeping one’s family and property safe. In fact, guard dogs should be considered merely one facet of a comprehensive security strategy.
Guard dogs are prized due to their ability to intimidate potential intruders with loud barking and snarling – clear indications to “stay away” that some people feel will deter even the most professional of thieves and send them toward a softer target. Those in the home security system business, however, are well aware of the shortcomings of relying exclusively on guard dogs.
Dogs can be distracted in a number of ways – loud sounds, food, other animals – and that means that they can have their attention pulled away long enough for someone to break into your property. Check out this funny ad that emphasizes this point.
It’s also possible, in worst case scenarios, for dogs to be poisoned by food that has been laced with something toxic, or to even be attacked when they surprise individuals who are armed and intent on robbing your home or business. There’s also the difficulty of keeping dogs fed and sheltered while you’re away on vacation, which is one of the most common times for a home to be hit by burglars.
These caveats make it clear that while guard dogs do offer a real benefit when it comes to protecting property, they must be combined with a properly-installed business alarm system or home alarm system in order to provide total peace of mind.
Knowing that if a burglar gets past your guard dog he’ll still have to deal with the unblinking eye of your security system. That means not having to worry about whether your faithful animal has been outsmarted or harmed in the middle of the night.
It also means that when you’re away you can enjoy far greater protection for your home or business, including remote monitoring of your system’s status and the ability to communicate with you almost instantly via a text message or phone call in the event of a break-in – something that simply isn’t possible when relying on a guard dog.
Licensed Security Specialists vs. National Utility Security Divisions – A Comparison
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamAfter all, having the name of a major utility on the warning label affixed to your front door, alerting potential thieves that you have an alarm installed, can sometimes add peace of mind to the equation. The real question is: What trade-offs are associated with choosing an alarm provider that doesn’t make security its number one business focus?
Mega-utilities are definitely prepared to cover the basics when it comes to offering home and business security packages. The deep pockets of nationwide companies ensure a reasonable investment in technology and service, similar to what you’d receive from your cable or mobile phone provider. Pricing is also usually competitive. These large companies offer several different packages that are targeted to the needs of the average family or organization. Read more →
Untested Alarm System Costs Siskiyou County $3 Million
/2 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging TeamJust ask officials at the Siskiyou County Courthouse in California, who were shocked to discover that the failure of the security system protecting $3 million in gold resulted in a clean getaway for the thieves who simply smashed a hole in the glass case protecting the historical artifacts and grabbed everything they could.
The gold nuggets had been a theft target once before in 1979, when the silent alarm functioned as intended and the would-be marauders were apprehended roughly a block away from the courthouse with the illicit wares in their possession. This time, however, the vibration alarm that was meant to protect the irreplaceable gold nuggets – some of which date back to the town’s founding – did not respond at all. A town spokesperson stated that the system had been properly armed, and that the county was working with its security provider to get to the bottom of the glitch.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of the sad story surrounding the Siskiyou gold is a footnote at the bottom of the article that mentions an annual security alarm test schedule. According to the Courthouse, the last test occurred in August of 2011, nearly seven months before the February theft.
There is an important lesson that business and property owners can learn from the tragic tale of the Siskiyou theft, and that is that it’s not enough to rely on a single alarm system test every 12 months. So much can happen within a year’s time, especially in a heavily-trafficked space such as a courthouse or a retail space, that it really becomes necessary to perform an alarm system test at least once per quarter, if not once per month.
American Alarm programs a timer test with its business security systems that can send communications weekly or daily, depending on the type of signals being monitored. If our central station operators do not receive a signal, we contact the owner immediately to determine the cause of the missed communication, and find a solution to the issue.
It costs nothing to make sure that your alarm system is functioning up to spec – what’s the price tag of not knowing? In the case of Siskiyou County, the figure would seem to be $3 million.
5 Summer Fire Safety Tips
/3 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging TeamIt’s certainly relaxing to enjoy a beach bonfire with friends and loved ones, or roast marshmallows by the lake or in the backyard fire pit, but it’s also important to ensure that everyone stays safe by observing a few simple fire protection guidelines.
American Alarm would like to thank FEMA and the U.S. Fire Administration for their assistance in putting together this list of five summer fire safety tips: Read more →
Home Security Tip: Shut the Door on Security Alarm Scams
/3 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging TeamDoor-to-door salespeople aren’t as common as they used to be.
Before you breathe a sigh of relief, you should be aware of an apparent door-to-door scam that plagued New Yorkers recently. Security alarm customers got knocks on their doors followed by allegedly false sales pitches.
Here’s how it went down, according to the Gannet news service. A sales operative approaches the potential customer and says, “Your company’s going out of business why don’t you switch over to us?” or “Your company’s merging with us.”
According to the New York AG’s office, people who signed up wound up with two different accounts and no easy way to close either.
Eventually the company alleged to have committed these offenses did pay compensation to the victims. But all of them would have been better off if they’d looked into the claims before signing. You should be immediately suspicious of any unexpected visit from someone claiming to be with your alarm company or a related company. A respectable alarm company won’t engage in a deceptive door-to-door campaign.
You can always politely decline the encounter and contact your security provider to report the solicitation. If you don’t already have an alarm company, it’s probably still not a good idea to purchase from a door knocker. In all likelihood, they don’t even represent a local, full-service security firm.
Now, if you want to know more about the New York switch scam, click the video description. We’ve provided a link.
Keep Your Home and Family Safe this Summer – What You Should Insist Your Security Company Provide
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamAh, those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Fun in the sun. Carefree attitudes. Barbecues, beach days, pool parties. Sounds fantastic, right?
Of course. But sometimes while you’re reveling in all that carefree summer living, you might not pay as much attention to home security as you should.
For example, you’re more likely to leave all your doors and windows open in the summer – even when you go out. But remember most break-ins occur because of negligence, so securing your home is of the utmost importance.
The fact is you always want your family to be safe and one way to ensure their safety is by turning to a top-notch security company to install an alarm system in your home.
Here are some things to look for when you choose a home security company:
So get out in the sun and have fun. But don’t forget to take the steps necessary to protect your home and your family this summer season and throughout the year.
Mobile Security System Apps Offer Remote Peace of Mind
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamModern home and business security systems are at the forefront of mobile app accessibility, enabling individuals to monitor the statuses of those systems from a distance as well as interact with their alarm systems should the need arise. Thanks to mobile app technology such as the Z-Wave digital monitoring system offered by American Alarm, there are a long list of available features that let individuals stay in touch with their security systems as long as they have cell signals.
Read more →
Business Security Tips to Prevent Robbery at Your Place of Work
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamTo prevent a robbery:
The Boston Police Department also has some tips to keep you safe during a robbery:
After the robbery:
Remember, no business is too small for a business security system. Today, a good business security system should include a business video surveillance system, which can send out digital alerts to automatically notify the authorities as soon as suspicious behavior is detected in or around your business. And that means police officers and private security guards are often able to catch those bad guys before they do any damage.
In the words of Ben Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”