After School Safety Tips for Kids Home Alone

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Latch Key KidBeing a working parent is never easy. Now that school is about to start, you’re probably doing some extra worrying about how to make sure your children are safe at home until you get back from work.

The truth is, no matter how sensible you think your kids are, you are still going to worry about them. If leaving your kids home alone is your only option, there are steps you can take to keep them safe.

If your child will be home alone after school you should:

  • Make sure your smoke detectors are functional – A working fire alarm system is one of the most effective ways to protect your children in case of a fire in your home.
  • Make a list of key people and telephone numbers – You should post this where your children can find it in the event of an emergency.
  • Tell your children where the flashlights are located – Be sure that the batteries are fresh.
  • Create an emergency plan with your children – Practice it with them so they’ll know what they should do in case there’s a fire, or other emergency or if they get hurt. Write the plan down and make sure your children know where it is. Read more →

School Vacation Safety Tips This Spring

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Spring vacation is just around the corner. Time for relaxation and fun. It’s a time of year many families take a break from their every day lives and travel to somewhere really warm and fun.

For other families, though, spring break means kids having to stay home alone or with a caretaker while mom and dad are at their jobs.

Whether you’re jetting off to Walt Disney World with your children or sitting in your office cubicle while they’re amusing themselves at home, it’s important to take some precautions to ensure their safety.

Here are some tips to help your kids have fun and stay safe during school vacation no matter where they are. Read more →

Spring Cleaning Safety Tips

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

spring_cleaning (2)A funny thing happens when we open up our windows in the spring. The oxygen which we have been deprived of through the stuffy winter months goes straight to our brain, and for a few weeks we feel like we are on top of the world! We become motivated to do all sort of crazy stuff, like clean the entire house. If spring cleaning fever has already hit you, follow these safety tips.

Read more →

Sleeping-bags, S’mores, and Securing Your Campsite

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

campingCamping is a dying art. Most kids today have never slept in a tent in their backyard, let alone in the middle of the woods. So before the weather gets to cold, consider taking the family on a weekend camping trip. Camping is a fun, inexpensive way to get away from it all. If you haven’t experienced it, you will be amazed how unplugging from technology and cooking a good meal over a fire pit can bring a family together.

When well prepared, you will be surprised how fun and comfortable the great outdoors can be. Whether you’re a seasoned camper or you don’t know a tarp from a tent, follow these tips to make your trip a safe and memorable experience. Read more →

5 Summer Safety Tips for the Beach

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

American Alarm - 5 Summer Safety Tips for the BeachIf you’re like the rest of us here on the East Coast, when you think summer, you think of the beach. You pack up your bathing suits, flip flops, sunscreen, your favorite iDevice–or maybe a real hard copy book–and take off for a day or a week at the inviting waters of the Atlantic, or the tranquil, crystal clear waters of one of New England’s many lakes.

Of course, before you leave, the first thing you should do is test your home security system, ensure it’s working properly, and alert your provider if you’re planning to be away for more than a day. In addition, here are some tips to ensure you and your family stay healthy and safe while you’re frolicking at the water’s edge.

Read more →

Preserving Home Security – and Sanity – During Renovations

/2 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging Team

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.” – Leo Tolstoy, “Anna Karenina”

Since spring is just around the corner, many people are planning to build new homes or renovate their current homes – projects that involve a lot of time, not to mention money, and maybe even a few tears.

homerenovationHowever, “a home under construction or renovation is more vulnerable to damage or destruction than at any other time in a home’s history,” according to the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. “Improperly stored work rags may combust, newly installed plumbing can leak, and intruders might vandalize your vacant home” and that’s just for starters. Read more →

Home Security: Package Delivery Safety

/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging Team

The holidays are over and you may now have online gifts to return or exchange, so don’t forget about package delivery safety.

Packages are stolen each year, and reports of package thefts are appearing more and more in the headlines of our local news outlets. For example, on Monday, December 3, a group of Woburn, Mass. residents allegedly stole packages delivered to a home in Stoneham, Mass.

Also, Watertown, Mass. Police Lt. Michael Lawn is warning residents of the increase in packages stolen from doorsteps and apartment/condo lobbies.

“We have had a few reports recently and this is becoming a big problem especially around Christmas time when people are ordering many items online,” Lawn explains in a Patch.com article. “This is just not a problem in (apartment) buildings but also in residential neighborhoods. Police have caught people following delivery trucks and grabbing the boxes after they are delivered.”

Last year, the Wellesley, Mass. Police Department released this video after investigating several thefts of packages delivered to the front doors of residents’ homes.

So what can you do to avoid being a victim of this crime? Local police departments offer these three tips:

  • If you aren’t home during the day, send the package to a neighbor or relative who is home. Be sure that person knows ahead of time so she can be at home to accept the delivery.
  • Request a signature confirmation on each delivery so a package will not be left at its destination unless someone is present to sign for it.
  • Send packages to your work address instead of your home.

Check with your shipper for options. UPS offers My Choice, a service that alerts you by text or e-mail a day before the package is scheduled to arrive. You can reschedule the delivery for a different day or reroute the package to be delivered to a different address (a neighbor for example) if you won’t be home.

FedEx offers similar services, including allowing you to hold the package at a FedEx retail location for pickup, or you can go online and request to have the package delivered to your home within a specific delivery time window.

The USPS will hold mail for pick up under some circumstances. Talk to your local USPS office for further information. For instance, if you’re traveling during the holidays all USPS offices offer a hold mail service to keep your packages, and all your mail safe at one of their offices until you return.

Sidenote: Both FedEx and UPS are warning consumers about fraudulent e-mails this year. These e-mails may reference a failed delivery or a suspended account. They are actually “phishing” e-mails, even though they may appear legitimate and come complete with the company brand, logo or legal disclaimers.

These types of e-mails contain invalid hyperlinks that may contain malware, and could corrupt your computer. These are not legitimate e-mails, so if you receive one do not click on any links. Delete the e-mail. FedEx and UPS do not send unsolicited e-mails to customers requesting information regarding packages, payments, invoices, account numbers, passwords, financial information or personal information.

Read more about fraudulent e-mails at the FedEx and UPS websites.

Next Steps:

Home Video Security: UPS Driver Caught Stealing FedEx Package

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

The importance of installing a home video security system was highlighted recently as a UPS driver was caught stealing a package from a customer’s door step. The driver made his delivery and left with a package sent earlier by another carrier. Luckily, the front and back doors were secured with video surveillance systems, catching the thief in the act.

As you watch the video proof below, know that the front and back doors are crucial places to set up residential video surveillance systems. With cameras positioned in these high-traffic areas, thieves are deterred and any intruders will be visible and captured on the surveillance system as evidence. With modern technology, video security systems can be accessed remotely, ensuring you’re always in the loop. Stay tuned for a follow-up blog post on how you can further protect yourself when packages are delivered by a carrier.

9 Tips to Keep College Kids Safe on Campus

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

It’s only about a month into the school year and The Harvard Crimson is already reporting crimes against students on campus.

As the Federal Bureau of Investigation reports, the environment of a college is much different than the high school environment a student is accustomed to. In a college setting, the student is exposed to many more buildings and larger classrooms, and has less control over access.

Varying student schedules minimize routine contact between students and educators, making it less conducive for educators to recognize the concerns of their students. Additionally the developmental stressors of the college environment – academic and social pressures, along with the need to establish self-sufficiency – may cause students to socially withdraw or turn to alcohol or drugs, increasing the chances they might be victims of crimes or even the perpetrators.

In an effort to make both students and parents aware of the dangers on college campuses and offer students guidance on ways to keep themselves safe, colleges all across the United States recognize September as National Campus Safety Awareness Month. Read more →

Keep Your Home and Family Safe this Summer – What You Should Insist Your Security Company Provide

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Ah, 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:

  • Speak to a Person, Not a Recording. When your home and family are in danger, every second counts. So be sure that whenever you need help – or just have a routine question – your security company has a real person answering your call. You don’t want to have to deal with navigating a complicated, automated voice system when you need help immediately.
  • No Alarm Delays. When an alarm sounds on your security system there must be no delay in transmission to the monitoring station. Your system should instantly send an alarm to the central station no matter if it’s an intrusion, smoke, carbon monoxide, or any trouble signal. Some companies delay transmitting their alarm signals by as much as four minutes because their systems are prone to false alarms.
  • Local Five-Diamond, U.L. Monitoring Center. Your home should be monitored 24-7 by a local Five-Diamond, U.L. Certified Central Station. That means your company’s central station has multiple back-up systems and can operate under any condition and the company’s team is among the best in the business. Your security company should be owned and operated by people who live in New England, not a third-party in some faraway state. And it should be staffed by experienced people who know your community, and can document how quickly they respond to alarm signals – 20 seconds or less is best-in-class.
  • Free Yearly Wellness Inspection. Your company should offer you peace of mind by letting you know that your security system will work when you need it most. Your company should clean smoke detectors, check back-up batteries, and inspect the system for signs of wear.
  • Experience and Advanced Technology. The top security companies employ veteran in-house experts who are able to install the most up-to-date devices and applications that best meet your needs.
  • Service in 24 Hours or Less. Your security company must ensure that your system is working every second of every day. But if you have an issue, your company should guarantee it will have a tech to your home as soon as possible but no longer than 24 hours after it receives your call.
  • Lifetime Warranty. Your security company should stand behind every security system it installs. If there’s a technical defect, the company should fix it at no cost to you as part of your monitoring service.

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.