Preventing Holiday Fires

The Christmas holidays, and winter itself, are peak times for house fires to occur. The NFPA reports that 30% of all house fires happen in the months of December, January, and February.

It is important to stay vigilant, take proper precautions, and be mindful of all the different things that can cause fires this time of year - Christmas trees and lights, candles, space heaters and fireplaces.

Facts about home holiday fires:

• One of every four home Christmas tree fires is caused by electrical problems.
• Although Christmas tree fires are not common, when they do occur, they are more likely to be serious. On average, one of every 32 reported home Christmas tree fires results in a death compared to an average of one death per 143 total reported home fires.
• A heat source too close to the tree causes one in every four Christmas tree fires.
• The top three days for home candle fires are Christmas, New Year's Day, and Christmas Eve.
• Candles start two out of five home decoration structure fires.

Source: National Fire Protection Association

To learn more facts about holiday fires and how to prevent them, view the following infographics:  Put a Freeze on Holiday Winter Fires by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and Wrapping up the Holidays - Preventing Winter Fires by the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI).

You can also read our previous blog posts on holiday fires: Don't Let Your Christmas Tree Go Up in Flames! and Let Us Help Protect Your Family from Holiday Fires.

Know What's Happening When You Aren't There

Having a camera system installed in or outside of your home is a great idea but it can't protect you in real time. If you are robbed, all you can do is review the recorded footage in the hopes something was caught that the police can use. 

Our smart camera systems send you alerts so that you can ACT to protect your home. Enjoy instant, real-time video in or outside of your home at anytime and from anywhere. Built-in motion sensors record automatically as well as alerting your smart phone. In an alarm event, your home's cameras begin recording automatically, ensuring that you won't miss vital footage.

What Makes Our Cameras Better? 

Our wireless indoor and outdoor cameras let you see what's happening in HD resolution, with our newest cameras offering 1080p. Use your fingertips on your smartphone or tablet to zoom in for a close-up view. 

Our indoor cameras now also provide two-way audio, allowing you to check in and chat with your loved ones when you're away from home. 

When something goes bump in the night, our cameras' infrared night vision makes it easy to see what's going on. 

We also have smart video doorbells! 

When someone rings the bell, a live video feed opens on your smart phone showing you who's there in real time. Have a two-way conversation with your visitor via a connected microphone and speaker in the doorbell. 

Want to let them in? Unlock your door from the same app - whether you're home or not. Motion-triggered video alerts will also let you know if someone is moving around your front door whether they ring the bell or not…a great way to catch lurking thieves thinking of breaking in or stealing anything. 

Video Is Easily Viewed and Shared 

Using the same app that controls your security system, you can easily share your video clips via message, email, and even social media. 

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Call us at (225) 292-5276, visit us at alarm.net to learn more, or stop by the office - on the corner of Airline Hwy. and Siegen Lane - for a live demo!

See What Our Customers Are Saying

Alarm Center takes great pride in the fact that we have been helping to keep local residents safe since 1978.

The satisfaction of our customers is important to us, and ensuring it is what has helped Alarm Center Security continue to offer protection and security to thousands of satisfied customers in, around, and beyond Baton Rouge for over 35 years.

Take a minute and see what dozens of our satisfied customers have to say!

http://alarm.net/customerreviews.html

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Control Your Home From Your Smartphone!

Alarm Center now offers total home security AND home automation that you can control from your smartphone!

Watch these demo videos to learn more, call us at (225) 292-5276 for a free security consult:

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

How to Increase the Stability of a Deadbolt

A deadbolt strengthens a door because it bolts deep into a vertical post that forms the side of the door. Strengthen the lock with the following method:

How to Increase the Stability of a Deadbolt on Howcast

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Alarm Link Allows You To Cut the Cord on Your Home Phone

Alarm Center is dedicated to offering a diverse set of services to accommodate all of our customers' unique needs. While you may be familiar with iAlarm – a recently-added service that provides internet monitoring with smartphone access – you may not be as familiar with our Alarm Link service, which is a cellular transmitter that allows you to be fully monitored without having to maintain a phone line.

Yet, portraying Alarm Link as merely a home phone alternative for our monitored customers is really selling it short. This high-powered cellular communicator is part of a valuable service we are proud to offer that provides a highly reliable monitoring experience, and offers new alternatives to customers that want a little bit more than the standard monitoring setup.

What Is Alarm Link?

Alarm Link Wireless Monitoring is a communications link for our customers who do not have, or would like to get rid of, their home phone service/landline.

The Alarm Link module is wired directly to your alarm panel and allows the alarm system to transmit activity, via the cellular network, to the Central Station. The unit, pictured here, has a back-up battery, so that even in the event of power loss at your home or business - either by intentional (criminal) or accidental (natural) means - your signals will still be received by Central Station.

Alarm Link is also perfect for monitoring locations where phone line access is unavailable, such as warehouses, boathouses, cabins or camps, garages, etc.

But Aren't Cellular Networks Too Flaky To Be Reliable?

We all know our cellular networks can be unreliable even in the best of circumstances. Dropped calls are simply a part of our mobile lives, and we all remember how impossible it was to make a call on our cell phones after the Saints won the Super Bowl or in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It's only natural to wonder if Alarm Link, utilizing a cellular network, would be prone to the same troubles.

It isn't! Alarm Link utilizes a high-powered transmitter making it communicate with a significantly stronger signal than a regular cellular phone signal. In fact, Alarm Link's signal strength is 16 times stronger than that of your typical hand-held cell phone!

Cost Savings!

Many people are disconnecting their home phone services simply to cut down on their monthly expenses. Standard landlines today with features like Caller ID and Call Waiting can cost around $50/month. Even the most stripped-down of home phone service can cost over $20/month. Now that the use of cellular phones and mobile devices are so common in today's society with often every member of a household having at least one, many would agree there is no need to keep a separate landline in the home.

While, in the past, a home phone line was required for a home's alarm system to be monitored, Alarm Link now gives our customers who are trying to save money by "cutting the cord" on their home telephone the ability to still be safe, secure, and fully monitored.

Alarm Link Is Reliable, Stable, & Cost Effective

If you are one of the many households who choose not to maintain a home phone or are considering eliminating your landline, and are interested in learning more about Alarm Link Wireless Monitoring for your home or business, give us a call today at (225) 292-5276 or contact us directly with any Alarm Link queries at CutTheCord@alarm.net.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

How to Protect Your Valuables From Burglars

How to Protect Your Valuables From Burglars on Howcast

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Home Invasions on the Rise

Knowledge is both power and prevention, and the best way to protect yourself from the threat of home invasion is to know everything there is to know about it.

This post aims to educate you on home invasions – when, why, and how they happen – and inform you of the preventative measures you can take to keep your home safe.

Home invasions are different than your usual break-and-enter burglary. Per Wikipedia :

Home invasion differs from burglary in having a violent intent, specific or general, much the same way as aggravated robbery - personally taking from someone by force - is differentiated from mere larceny (theft alone).

Some states, Louisiana included, have addressed the epidemic by defining home invasion as a specific kind of crime, differentiating it from some types of burglary or robbery; per Louisiana RS 14:62.8 Home Invasion:

Home invasion is the unauthorized entering of any inhabited dwelling, or other structure belonging to another and used in whole or in part as a home or place of abode by a person, where a person is present, with the intent to use force or violence upon the person of another or to vandalize, deface, or damage the property of another.

In other words, a home invasion happens when a person is in the house that is being broken into. For this reason – the direct contact with a perpetrator – home invasions are one of the most terrifying and dangerous types of property crimes.

On The Rise

According to Sentinel Security Group, who compiled statistics from the FBI per the NCVS (National Victimization Data Survey) and UCS (Uniform Crime Reports):

• 38% of all assaults occur during a home invasion
• 60% of all rapes occur during a home invasion

Security expert, Jordan Frankel – also known as The Security Sensei  – of Global Security Experts says  that 1 out of every 5 homes will encounter a violent home intrusion or burglary. He believes a rise in home invasions are a result of increased security measures – such as security cameras and monitored alarm systems – becoming the norm rather than the exception in previous commercial targets. Per Frankel:

Due to the increased security of commercial businesses, houses and apartments are considered much easier targets by criminals. Home invaders also know that many homeowners and renters still don't have alarm systems. In fact, it's the home without security devices that they look for when deciding on their next target.

Don't Think It Can't Happen to You

Doing a quick Google News search for "home invasion" will turn up dozens of recent reports, some just a couple of hours old, about home invasions that have happened all over the country.

Home invasions can happen anywhere and to anyone – from a father of five, killed in a Rock Hill, NC home invasion to a Hollywood actor in Los Angeles, CA, who confronted an intruder in his home after returning from the SAG awards. Here locally and just three days ago, a man in Ponchatoula shot a man he found burglarizing his home after the burglar pulled a gun on him.

No one is immune to a home invasion. In fact, the FBI states 13% of all homes are burglarized every year, and 85% of those are through the front door.

An intruder doesn't just have to force his way in. There are far too many horror stories of victims who were overtaken in their homes by the simple act of opening the door to a stranger – one who needs to supposedly use the phone or is dressed as maintenance or delivery person or even a police officer. In their article on home invasions, the Professor's House blog gives these tips for what to do when you hear a knock on the door:

• Always check to see who is there before you answer the door.
• Always respond so the person knows someone is home.
• Do not open the door to anyone you do not know. Remember, you do not have to open the door to anyone.
• Ask for identification. Once you have seen it, ask for secondary identification such as a telephone number that you can call to verify the person's status.
• Pretend there are other people in the house by calling out someone's name. Keep your radio or television on.
• If you see any suspicious persons, activities, or vehicles in your area, do not be afraid to call 911.

The Security Sensei notes that "it's the home without security devices that they look for when deciding on their next target", so naturally the best protection you can have is a security system  - especially one installed and monitored by a professional company. Even if the intruder does get inside and tells you to disarm the alarm, you can – instead – type in a duress code that will immediately notify the authorities that you are in danger.

It's What We've Been Doing for 35 Years

Consider Alarm Center for protecting your home and business. We have been keeping local residents safe since 1978, are locally owned and operated, and take great pride in continuing to offer protection and security to thousands of satisfied customers. We offer flexible solutions for all your security needs, whether you're a home or business owner. We work with each client individually to build a protection plan tailored to your specific needs. In addition to no up-front costs (with approved credit), you can fill out our online form for a Free Estimate on our Comprehensive Homeowner's Package.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

How a Monitored Security System Can Benefit Your Business

In 2011, there were 4,220 burglaries of residences and businesses in the Baton Rouge area alone. Larceny - taking away someone's personal property while trespassing on private property – affected 7,947 home and business owners.

Every day more homeowners are choosing to have a monitored alarm system installed in their homes, making their homes three times less likely to be broken into. With the rise of property-related crimes in Baton Rouge in the last few months, business owners would be wise to, also, consider getting a monitored alarm system installed in their establishments.

Having security cameras and a keypad installed in your business and being monitored by a reputable, local alarm company can not only keep you safe from after-hour burglaries, but can help protect your employees and assets. A monitored alarm system does not just protect from thieves, but can also safeguard from fire and vandalism. Business owners should also check with their insurance providers, as they sometimes offer discounts to businesses that have a professionally-installed security system.

One of the key benefits of having an alarm system is having total Access Control over your business and property. A business with multiple employees can assign a separate access code for each employee, allowing the business owner to log who is coming and going, and when. Also, lost or stolen keys are a problem of the past.

According to About.com's "Do I Need Electronic Access Control?":

You can evaluate your need for EAC by asking these three questions:

1. Do I need an audit trail, i.e. a time and date stamped record of every opening or attempted opening of a door?
2. Should different employees have different access privileges based on time and day?
3. Does a lost or stolen key represent an immediate security threat to my facility?

Answering yes to any of those questions can justify the investment in an EAC system.

Our U.L. Listed and Approved Central Station is located right here in Baton Rouge and monitors and processes your alarm system's signals 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Even during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Issac, we never went offline. Depending on the signal received, we will dispatch the Police, Fire Department, or an Ambulance and notify you within seconds of an event.

Give us a call today - (225) 292-5276 -  to see what we can do for you in helping to make your business safer and better protected, or consider switching to us from your regular alarm company and get 6 months free!

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Let Us Help Protect Your Family from Holiday Fires

According to the latest findings by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), "U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 371,700 home structure fires per year" and that "roughly one of every 310 households per year had a reported home fire."

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) contends that the holiday season, from December 1 to January 7, is "a time of elevated risk for winter heating fires" and  "during this period, structure fires increase and the dollar loss per fire is 34% greater than normal, due largely to the decorative use of Christmas trees, other combustible materials such as wrapping paper, and candles."

There are a number of things you can do to protect your home and loved ones from the elevated risk of fire during the holidays, but perhaps the most important is to add a monitored smoke detector to your home alarm system.

What Is A Monitored Smoke Detector & How Is It Different From Store-Bought Smoke Detectors?

A monitored smoke detector is connected to your home alarm system and will not only sound an alarm but – unlike a plain smoke detector – notify the fire department and then you within seconds.

If you are not at home, a fire may not be called in until the neighbors (hopefully!) happen to see smoke billowing from your windows – at which point it's usually too late to save the home. If you are at home, the monitored smoke alarm will give you time to focus on getting your loved ones out safely without having to worry about stopping to call the fire department.

Even if you have a regular smoke detector/alarm in your home, can you remember the last time you tested it or changed the batteries? The National Burglar and Fire Association (NBFA) found in a recent study that as many as 50% of regular, battery-operated smoke detectors in American homes are "inoperable".

How We Help Keep You Safe
Our alarm systems can monitor your home (or business) for smoke, fire, carbon monoxide (CO), and heat. If a fire is detected in your home, a unique alarm will sound – different than the siren for an intrusion – and, for your safety, will sound regardless if your alarm system has been activated or not.

Almost immediately, a call will go out from our local Central Station to the nearest fire department; even if you aren't at home, your house, possessions, and pets can best be saved by the quickest response to a possible fire.

Statistics state that 64% of house fires occur during the day and the majority of these, without a monitored smoke/fire detector to alert the fire department, are a total loss. Check with your insurance company as they may offer a further discount to your homeowner's insurance if you have a fire/smoke/heat detector and alarm added to your monitored alarm system.

Call us today - (225) 292-5276 - to find out about adding a smoke/fire alarm to your monitored home alarm system, or about getting a full system installed in your home.  Give you and your loved ones the greatest gift this holiday season – peace of mind. Knowing your home, family, possessions, and pets are being looked after, even when you're not there, is priceless.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Want An Existing Alarm System Monitored? No Problem!

If you have an old or pre-installed alarm system in your home and would like to be monitored, we can help!

Perhaps you have moved into a new home that has an alarm system already installed, or maybe you had an alarm system installed yourself years ago but have never, or no longer have, it monitored. You have decided you would like your home to be monitored, but aren't sure if you have to get an entire new system installed or if an alarm company can work with what is already there.

Alarm Center has the solution! We can monitor any system, no matter who installed it!

Our customers are monitored through our local U.L. Listed and Approved Central Station; the largest in Baton Rouge. Central Station is never offline and so reliable that it stayed online and functional through Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Issac, keeping our customers safe during and after the storms.

What About Switching?

Do you have a system but are unhappy with your current company or unsatisfied with their response time? Give us a call at 225-292-5276. If you switch to us we'll give you 6 months FREE!

Alarm Center offers flexible solutions for your security needs, whether you're a homeowner who wants to keep their loved ones and possessions safe or a business owner with commercial property to protect. We work with each client individually to build a protection plan tailored to your specific needs.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Alarm Monitoring - What It Is & How It Works

Having an alarm system is an important aspect of smart home safety, but homes with a monitored alarm system are 2-3 times less likely to be burglarized. Alarm Center offers monitoring from a local, state-of-the-art facility known as Central Station.

Our Central Station is U.L.-approved and located in Baton Rouge. The largest monitoring station in the city, it has the most up-to-date, high-tech equipment and software to monitor and process our customers' alarm signals.

Central Station is online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In fact, even during the widespread outages caused by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Issac, Central Station never went offline!

Your Alarm Is Going Off – What Happens Next?

Depending on the signal coming from your alarm panel, which is wired to a phone line, the police or fire department or an ambulance will be dispatched immediately to your home or business. You will, also, be notified with a phone call (to your work and/or cell) within seconds of the alarm sounding and the call going out to the appropriate department.

To break it down even more for you, this is what happens when your alarm is tripped:

1. A signal is sent from your control panel to our monitoring facility.
2. We call your premises to verify the alarm. Your password is on file with us so that you can identify yourself in the event of a false alarm.
3. Our Central Station dispatches the proper authorities. (Police, Fire or Medical)
4. Our operators contact your emergency call list to notify you or your assigned emergency responder of the alarm and dispatch.

But I Don't Have a Home Phone!

We can still monitor you! Alarm Link will transmit your signal to our Central Station even if you don't have a telephone line.

Whether you don't have a phone line at your residence, or want to monitor a location where phone line access is not available, such as a boathouse or garage, our Alarm Link Wireless Monitoring is the solution.

Whatever Your Needs, Alarm Center Has You Covered!

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Alarm Center Celebrates Crime Prevention Month

It was in 1984 that the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) first designated October as Crime Prevention Month. Throughout the month, local governments, schools, businesses, and the like are encouraged to work together in educating the public about crime prevention.

If you are interested in getting your school, business, or community to take part in this October's Crime Prevention Month, the NCPC has kits to help get you started. The theme for this year can be downloaded at 2011-2012 Crime Prevention Month Kit on the NCPC website.

One of the main focuses of Crime Prevention Month is on getting citizens to join together to help create safer communities. One way that this is accomplished is by making people aware of, and getting them involved in, the NCPC's Celebrate Safe Communities program.  From the website:

Celebrate Safe Communities (CSC) is crime prevention done the right way – local people working with local law enforcement to address local issues. CSC spotlights communities' crime prevention efforts, enhances public awareness of vital crime prevention and safety messages, and recruits year-round support for ongoing prevention activities that help people keep neighborhoods safe from crime and prepared for any emergency.

Visit their website today to utilize resources and tools for your community, or to register your own CSC-inspired event.

Working together, we can all help to create safer communities for our families and children here in Louisiana.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

Locks Aren't Enough to Keep Your Home Safe

Simple is always best, and – unfortunately – breaking into a home can be just that. In fact, two of the most common methods burglars use to gain access to your home are also two of the most simple: kicking in the door and lock-bumping.

Crime statistics tell us that most burglaries occur when a thief simply kicks in your door. Another, less well-known, method is by bumping your lock. The method is simple – a regular key is filed down to trigger the pins in a tumbler lock.  In minutes and with a quick internet search, a thief can learn how to bump a lock, order "bump keys" for as little as $3/key, or even read how to make them himself.

Door kick-ins and lock bumping are simple and, frighteningly, effective. The FBI states 74% of burglars kick-in doors, making this method the most common type of forced entry. Statistics on lock-bumping are hard to come by, as a bumped lock shows no sign of damage or forced entry (often causing headaches for a victimized family trying to prove to their insurance company they have been burglarized!); however, according to Lock Bumping.org, a public service site about the procedure, more than 90% of American doors use an old style cylinder lock which is vulnerable to lock bumping.

The bonus for burglars – and the blow to you – is that both methods take shockingly little time to execute. A thief kicking in your door can be inside your home in less than a second. One utilizing a bump key will gain access in 1 minute or less.

While getting stronger doors and better locks is recommended, it cannot ensure your home's safety. Thieves have many other ways of getting into your home, including using tools to force open doors as well as windows.

The FBI states that a burglar breaks into a home every 15 seconds in the U.S. and that a home with a monitored security system is 2-3 times less likely to be broken into. The only way to guarantee your home's continued safety is by having a fully-monitored alarm system controlled by a key panel – no unreliable doors or locks to be concerned about, no windows that can be forced open without an alarm sounding.

Local Crime Woes

The widely-reported crime wave rocking Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas is not something local residents should take lightly. Of all the crime-related news you do hear about, there is far more that goes unreported. In fact, most burglaries and home break-ins are not reported in the news, but that does not mean they are not happening.

Alarm Center is proud of helping to keep the Greater Baton Rouge area and beyond safe since 1978.  We are fully licensed and insured, and with over 10,000 systems installed, we are confident we can meet all of your security needs.  In fact, all of our systems are guaranteed or your money back.

Owned and operated by local residents with a stake in our community's safety, we take great pride in our history, and the fact that we continue to offer protection and security to thousands of satisfied customers. In addition to no up-front costs (with approved credit) and the possibility of an up to 20% discount off your homeowner's insurance premium, depending on your insurance carrier, you can fill out our online form for a Free Estimate on our Comprehensive Homeowner's Package.

Your neighbors have trusted us for over 34 years – you can too!

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]

We're Open for Business!

In May of 2012, we began construction on a brand new building  here in Baton Rouge on the corner of Airline Highway and Siegen Lane. On October 1, we officially moved in!

Originally located on Coursey Boulevard, we are now at 11410 Airline Highway at Siegen Lane. Come by and visit us today.

If you need help finding our new location, visit the Find Us page on our website, or contact us at (225) 292-5276.

[Call Alarm Center Security today for a FREE quote on a security system for your home or business - 1-800-97-ALARM - or visit our website to see if you qualify for a $0 down installation - alarm.net]