It’s amazing how we can all fall into a sense of complacency about our security. It always happens to the “other guy” until some major event or happening comes close to us. Point in fact; We are relocating to another state and my wife asked me about some of the simple things we take for granted now: ambulance service, police or sheriff’s protection, all the utility shut-off locations, fire protection, hospitals & medical facilities, etc.

It made me realize I had to make out an entirely new plan of action for all of these and write them down. In case of an emergancy we could act in an orderly manner…..sometimes….seconds count. I recommend everyone up-date their emergency plans periodically and go over them with all the family members. Have a exit plan to leave the house for all locations and have a specific place to meet away from the home. You will know all the family members have cleared the home. Too often,people have gone back into the house looking for a family member or pet and have lost their lives unnecessarily.

Now the tip of the day: We had an electrical circuit malfunctioning in our newly purchased home. The home was built back in the eighties. Back then, installing wall outlets by pushing the wires into the back of the outlet was permissable. One of the outlets like this in our home had a poor connection using this method of installation which could have started a fire by arking inside the outlet. Hiring an electrician to re-wire your outlets using the wire screws to attach the wires to the outlet will make your home safer. According to safety laws, this method of wiring is the only way allowed when installing wall outlets today. THINK ABOUT IT.

Basically there are 4 components to an alarm system; the key pad, master control center and the various connected devices. I’m going to focus in on the key pad this talk.

The key pad got it’s name because the earlier alarm systems were turned on or off by a key. Now most systems are controlled by a “digital” key pad, but the name stuck, “keypad.”

Now that I’ve said that, there are different keypads that don’t even look like a keypad. Yes, they still have some systems controlled by a key, but most have buttons on them from 1 to 10. This is to let you “type in” your special code to tell the master control panel what you want the system to do. Some systems may have a “touch screen”. This looks like a computer monitor that has the various things on it that you want ths system to do. You touch the screen on the icon you want and it controls the system.

There may be several codes programmed into your system. Each person authorized to enter the building can be assigned there own code. The system will have a memory logging in the time and date the person either entered of left the building. You also may have a temporary code put in for a worker for the time he/she is needed to enter the building. This is taken out after the work is completed. Some people have their maid with her own code.

You also can program a special code for only certain times of the day. The master control panel will not let access on any other time periods.

A system also may have several “panels”. This I means you can have special codes for different areas of the building limiting a person only to the areas they are supposed to have access to. A good example of this is to have a jewelry draw, safe or file cabinet, silver closet with it’s own access code.

Key pads also have other information on them. They can tell you what doors or windows are not closed. What areas have been violated. The condition of the system. If there is something wrong with the system it will tell you the problem.

If you enter your home and go to turn your system off and it’s indicating you had an alarm while you wre gone, leave the home immediately. The person may still be in your home. Call the police. Let them search your home. Believe me, they would rather make this call than a homicide investigation call.

All this can be tied into an automated system that can be controll by a computer from anywhere in the world!!! Yes, you can even control your system anywhere. You can have a “spy in the sky” from anywhere if you have video included in the system. THINK ABOUT IT !!!!!!!

To have or not to have; that is the question. My personal opinion is to have the loudest siren/sounder you can have with your security system.

The idea of a loud sounder is two fold: 1. let the criminal know he has been detected and 2. let your neighbors know someone may have broken into your home or business.

Some people tell me, “I want a silent alarm so I can catch the burglar.” The fact is that even with an alarm system, the chances of catching the criminal is slim to none. They are not in your home long enough to be caught. They want to jump and grab and be gone in less than five minutes. A loud siren is likely to deter them.

So why have an alarm system? Because you want to limit the time they have in your home and if a burglar sees you have an alarm system he may very well bypass your home. He doesn’t want the hassel of the system or the chances he may be detected and caught.

Almost all of the burglars that were interviewed in prison said if the home had an alarm system they would bypass that home.

Another device I recommend are strobe lights. Imagine if you violated my home and this loud noise is going off and this bright strobe light is flashing, what would you do? Most likely you would get out of dodge in a hurry. Here again, this bright flashing light directs the police to your home easily even in the darkest of nights.

Some communities have noise ordinances them. So before you install a siren, check your local police or city hall to see what ordinances they have in your community.

Remember that a steady sounding siren means a break-in and short bursts of the siren mean fire.

Write down anything you see to tell the police when they get there. Vehicle descriptions, license plate numbers, description of the person fleeing the home, time the alarm went off, etc. Do not put yourself in danger. Let the police do their job.

THINK ABOUT IT!!!!

The first special device I want to talk about is a Carbon Monoxide Detector. They are sold at many retail stores for homes, but they are not usually recomended for RV’s. RV’s take a special type of detector.

There are different laws & regulations from state to state and communities. I recommend before purchasing a carbon monoxide detector, to call your local fire department or building codes enforcement office.

The minimum detectors I recommend is having at least one detector on each level of your home. Do not place them near any furnaces, gas fired stoves or heaters, kitchens, areas under 40 or over 100 degrees, high steam or vapor levels, or near automobile exhaust areas. If a carbon monoxide detector is placed is inside your kitchen cabinets it may not be safte from the heat, and it might be slow to pick up the Carbon Monoxide due to poor ventilation.

Learn the symptoms of “the silent killer”; Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, oderless gas and is deadly. The most common source is usually from a furnace or heater that have been improperly installed or developed a “cracked” heat exchanger or flu. Improper use of space heater can also be dangerous. They should only be used where there is ample ventilation. Also incomplete combustion of fuel in furnaces and heaters can cause carbon monoxide to form. Many people store items in close proximity of the furnaces and heaters, limiting proper air flow. Be sure all gas fired appliances have good airflow for proper operation. These can be natural gas, propane heaters, oil, kerosene, coal, charcoal or wood appliances.

One or more of the first signs of carbon monoxide poisoning may be a headache, dizziness, sleepiness, mental confusion, tightness in the chest, and breathing difficulties blurred vision. These syptoms are often confused as flu-like syptoms.

It can happen to anyone at any age, however, infants and small children are at a higher risk because they are known to sleep more and appear to be normal.

The first signs of any of these symptoms or if your carbon monoxide detector sounds exit the house immediately. This includes all pets. Don’t try to find the source, leave the home.

If you have an alarm system it will have already contacted the alarm monitoring center. They probably have contacted the fire department. It is best to wait until they arrive and search your home for the cause before re-entering the home.

If you purchase a CO Device, be sure it has a UL Seal of Approval. If it is battery powered change the batteries every time you change the daylight times. Check them on a regular basis. They will have a button you can press to see if they are working or not. If it is powered by household electricity buy one that has a back-up battery in case you lose power. Again, keep this battery fresh as well.

A good website to learn more is:
smokesign

Remember: There are two key conditions for the operation of any fuel burning appliance: Proper ventilation & complete combustion.

More people are killed or injured in fires than all the burglaries of homes or businesses combined. Smoke & soot damage will consume every square inch of your home. I had a neighbor who had a fire and clothes packed in suitcases still got damaged with soot. They were far removed from the actual fire. So it is important to add fire protection to your security system.

Most smoke detectors security alarm companies use are different than the ones sold in hardware stores or Walmart. They measure they quality of the air electronically. They usually can detect a fire as opposed to fumes using this method is much better. When a fire is detected, the fire department is notified even sometimes before you the home owner know you have a fire. The internal siren in the home alerts your family of the fire. Most alarm systems give intermittant short blasts if there is a fire as opposed to a steady sound of the siren. This also lets you know even in a deep sleep that when the siren goes off, you know it’s a fire instead of a break-in.

It is important where you place these devices. Some cities have codes stating you have to have one for each bedroom. Most of the time they are installed in a common hallway outside of the bedrooms.

Another device is called a heat rise or heat sensor. Most of these devices operate sensing the heat of the air surrounding them. There are two kinds. The first device will detect a fire if the heat rises to a certain temperature. The other device will activate if there is a sudden change of temperature from a certain degree to another.

These devices are placed in areas like kitchens, garages, attacks, basements near the furnace, utility rooms, and any where you have a heater or flammable materials.

Every family should have a fire drill every so often. Each member of the family should know all exits. Have a place where you meet outside, like at the mail box, so you know everyone has gotten out. Many people have lost their lives going back into a burning home thinking that somone is still in the home when actually they were out but on the other side of the home.

Keep in mind that most insurance companies give discounts if you have a security system installed in your home or business. The more levels of protection could mean a greater discount on your insurance. So an investment in a complete security system could mean a subsatantial savings over the years plus the “peace of mind” knowing your protected. THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!

The third level of protection is interior sensors. If some how a burglar were to enter your premises without setting your alarm off you should have interior devices. These may be PIR’s (passive infra-red detectors), video surveilance cameras, infra-red beams, or pressure mat sensors.

PIR’s are sometimes called motion detectors. They send out an infrar-red beam and when that beam is interupted it sets off the alarm. They are really better than ultra-sound motion sensors beacause they are passive which means they will not interfear with other devices. Ultra-sound devices can “talk to each other” thereby setting off a possible alarm or interfearing with each other.

You can have several different PIR’s depending on the location and what it is to detect. Some are 90, 180, or 360 degree coverage. Some can be set so that it will not pick up certain pets. They act on heat so it will not detect anything over a certain size or weight.

Infra-red beam detectors send out a beam and when the beam is broken it sounds the alarm. They have their limitations as to where they can be placed or used.

Video cameras can be used both inside and outside of the building. They also can have a motion sensor in them and can record a video record on a video recorder when the motion detector sensors something. They can also be set to run at certain times only or continously. There are two types of video recorders, VCR or DVR. The VCR records the information on a video tape while the DVR records the information digitally. DVR’s are usually more expensive, but they can record longer periods of time.

Before installing a security system have your sales associate explain all of these options with you.
THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!

It is important to have all exterior openings protected by some detection device. Both the first floor as well as the basement and second stories.

Windows and doors should have “contacts” on them. There are two types, hard-wired or wireless. As it a sounds a hard-wired contact is connected to the master control panel by a wire. The wireless contact sends a signal to the master control panel by radio waves. They cause the system to go into alarm if they are violated. When the alarm sounds it makes a loud noise which most of the time scares the robber away and alerts your neighbors and your monitoring center of a possible intrusion into your home. The center will then contact your home and if they get no response or the wrong pass word they contact the police.

Basement windows can be secured by “Barglar Bars”. It is a bar stretched across the window and if it gets dislogged it will cause an alarm. Don’t forget these windows.

Casement windows sometimes are best protected by “glass-break detectors. The best kind are the ones it takes three (3) signals to activate before it sets off the alarm. When a window is broken there are three phases that occur. First the vibration of the breaking window, then the breaking window puts off a certain frequency that is detected, and some glass-breaks also have a motion sensor built into them as well. Having a multiple action glassbreak helps to keep the false alarms to a minimum.

Don’t be a penny wise and a pound foolish when getting an alarm system installed. Don’t cut corners because the device you omit might be the exact spot of entry into your home. Think as if you were the burglar and how YOU would gain entry into your home.

When thinking about having a security system installed there are 6 aspects to consider. I will be listing each and discussing the values of each in the next few weeks.

Basically they are: (1) yard signs & window/door decals, (2) perimeter window & door contacts, (3) interior protection devices, (4) fire protection,(5) carbon monoxide detectors, (6) special partitions.

The yard signs & window decals are very important. It lets a would be thief know you are protected by an alarm system. A burglar does not want to encounter an alarm system because first it limits the time he has to steal from you and there is a good possibility he will get caught.

Would you break into a house with an alarm system when your neighbor does not have one??? Which one would you burglarize??? Place your signs & decals on all sides of the house so your home cannot be approached by someone and not know you have an alarm system.

My last post was about documenting your valuables. Here is my recommendation as to the best way to do it.

There are several companies that do video taping in your home or business confirming the ownership of your valuables. Needless to say, be careful as to which one you pick. Be sure they are bonded and have a security background check. It wouldn’t even hurt to contact your local police about them.

They may store the results on a Video Tape or C D. Either way, be sure they make two copies of your video recording.

Before you have them to video your valuables get “certified” appraisals of any unique items. Have full descriptions of each to help further identify or confirm the value of the item. Have each item numbered on the video tape or CD to make identifying easier. This will also help to make a more accurate report to your insurance company if you have a loss. Items will not be accidentally omitted if you have consecutive numbers.

Keep two copies. Keep one in your safety deposit box and submit the other to your attorney.

The initial loss after a burglary, fire or natural disaster is usually not the only loss you have. Very few people have their valuables documented and have this verification in a safe place.

Yes, you have insurance. They will only pay you for what you can document that you owned that particular item. If you have a loss you have to fill out a list of all the items you lost. Usually they want this within the 30 days or less after your loss.

Believe me, I’ve been a statistic of a home burglary. We discovered many items months later that were stolen. I racked my brain trying to give a complete list to the insurance company and I still missed all these items.

If you don’t have any records of your valuables it is quite likely you will miss entering several items on your loss list. Weeks or months later after you have “settled” with the insurance company you will look for an item and it’s not to be found. You have settled with the insurance company and this loss can not be recovered. So it is really important to keep accurate records of your valuables.

Document all your possessions. Pictures are a good way of documenting items. Collections, antiques, artwork, securities, bank records, insurance certificates, the list goes on. Keep these records in a safety deposit box so if you do have a fire or natural disaster it will be safe.