You and your family have been mapping out your route for months. Now you’ve packed your suitcases, set your home security alarm, and you’re ready to hit the open road.
Before you and your family set off, here are six tips to ensure you and your family have a safe and fun-filled trip. Read more →
When you’ve decided to set up your new home security system, you’ll also need to take the time to actually think like a burglar. In other words, if you were a burglar, where would you target and why? The mentality of a burglar is one of exploitation and knowing where to target at the right time.
We recently published an article about the mindset of a thief from a business security perspective, and wanted to switch gears and focus on home security. Taking the time to protect your home cannot be underestimated; it is your most prized possession and placing it in this type of jeopardy is not worth the risk.
Summer vacation is here, kids nationwide have been looking forward to the opportunity to kick back, relax, and enjoy some quality time at home. Many families will be leaving their homes to vacation and enjoy their summer vacation abroad. Unfortunately, vacationing can present some home security risks – making it extremely important to conduct a few checks before locking up your home. Read more →
Lightning strikes are not as uncommon as many people think and can create severe fire hazards during storms.
Last summer, a lightning strike caused a two-alarm fire in Kingston, Mass. Three other homes were also hit by lightning during the same severe storm, but they did not catch fire. Luckily, there were no reported injuries.
In September, a barn in Williamsburg, Mass. also caught fire after it was hit by lightning. No one was inside the barn and no one was injured.
Earlier this year, chimneys on a home in Danvers, Mass. and a residence in Framingham, Mass. were also hit by lightning during an unusual lightning storm.
We want to offer you some tips from Safety Insurance in Boston to help you protect your home and your family during a lightning storm:
Imagine this scenario: You’re on a great winter getaway, soaking up the rays on one Caribbean island or another. The temps are in the mid-80s, and you and your family are snorkeling and swimming with the dolphins. The last thing on your mind is the plumbing in your home back in New England.
When you get home, you discover (to your horror) that your water pipes have frozen and burst, flooding your basement and causing significant damage that requires extensive and costly repairs.
On Wednesday February 12th, a woman in her 50s lost her life when a fire broke out in an apartment of a three-family home in Cambridge, Mass. Fire officials determined the cause of the fatal blaze was an electric baseboard heater that may have malfunctioned.
The home fire alarm system (smoke detectors) inside the apartment, as well as throughout the building, had been disconnected or did not have batteries, said Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald R. Reardon.
“A working smoke alarm coupled with an escape plan can double one’s chances of surviving a fire,” he said.
As a leading provider of home alarm systems, we’ve written a lot about things you can do to ensure the safety and security anyone living with you – and, of course, yourself. Everything we do is focused on helping you protect your family and your home in the event of an emergency or natural disaster — but what about your furry, four-legged family members? Don’t forget to take them into consideration when you develop your family’s emergency preparedness plan.
We offer you five tips, some of which are courtesy of The Humane Society of The United States, to protect your pets in emergencies and natural disasters:
When it comes to what’s in store for the home security system market for 2014, the buzzword is still “traditional,” according to James Cook, sales manager at American Alarm.
“We’re selling more traditional home security systems, not the other stuff and that’s what’s generating our growth,” Cook says. “Although I expect that things like full home automation and other add-ons will continue to grow a little bit after people get more comfortable with technology.”
Cook says that while some homeowners may like the add-ons including mobile apps and remote monitoring, the main reasons they invest in home security and alarm systems are to prevent burglaries and fires.
After scouring the Internet for months you’ve finally scored that hot – not to mention super expensive – electronic gadget all the kids want this holiday season on Amazon. However, one look at your child’s face when he rips off the wrapping paper will make all your efforts worthwhile.
That is, if your package doesn’t get stolen before you even know it’s been delivered.
Here are some tips courtesy of the Boston Police Department to keep thieves from making off with the packages filled with the holiday goodies you buy online:
We all know that installing smoke detectors in your home fire system is the number one way to prevent fatalities during a fire in your home. That’s why it’s critical to change the batteries in your smoke detector twice a year — at the same time you set your clocks to either “spring forward” or “fall back.”
This year daylight savings time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3. So when you get ready to turn your clocks back an hour, remember to replace the batteries in your smoke detector — as well as your carbon monoxide detector. If you have a monitored fire alarm system make sure you call to have it tested at least once a year. American Alarm is one company that offers free annual wellness inspections to monitored residential customers for this purpose.
Here are a few less obvious steps you can take to reduce the risk of fire in your home.
