GARAGE REMOTES and B&E's

Just on the Noon News today: Elderly Lady from Abbotsford, BC had been at Church, when she came out to her car she found it had been broken into, to add further pain when she arrived home it had also been broken into. PLEASE people remove your garage remotes from your vehicles and blacken out your address on your insurance papers, and finally do not have your exact home address on your GPS.  For this and more helpful information please contact Kelly Wicks at kellywicks@atlasalarms.com

Regular Routines - Warning

Here we are almost half way through September. Kids are back to school and we are back to our regular routines, time to think about Security! Regular routines are the best to advertise your home as vulnerable. Thieves often scope out their next target and since most persons cannot change their hours of work and children’s school hours the best alternative to prevent break in is obvious – Residential Alarm System.

Statistics show that homes that have electronic security and visibly display this are less likely to be broken into. While having an electronic security system will not 100% prevent a break in it will keep the time down that the bad guy is in your home. Every home design is different so should the design of the security system. If you cannot afford to have a fully complete security system installed at least having the basics to begin with is a good start. Your entry doors to the home should be protected with contacts (sensors) and have at least one interior motion detector for in the event that a window is breached. The motion detector should be placed in an area that the burglary will cross its path. And last but not least a smoke detector connected to the security system. Having a professional Security Company provide the Alarm Monitoring as they monitor the security system and call the authorities in the event of a breach or fire when you are not able to do so.

Once you have at minimal a “basic” security system installed you can always add further devices at a later date. Costs can be discussed with the Security Professional.

For this and more information on Security Systems please contact me at kellywicks@atlasalarms.com

Planning Your Vacation? Plan Your Security NOW!!

As spring and summer approach, many families will be leaving their homes empty for a few weeks to enjoy a little R&R. Don't let your opportunity to enjoy some quality time away with the family become an opportunity for burglars to invade your home.

A well-planned vacation includes a plan for minding the fort while you're away. Some common strategies include: getting a house sitter, having a neighbor bring in mail and newspapers, leaving on some lights or putting some on timers, and possibly getting a security system.
The old standby in this situation seems to be: lights-timers-neighbors. Any plan is better than no plan at all, and ensuring that your papers and mail don't pile up is a good place to start. Having a trusted neighbor take care of these items and possibly even park a car in your driveway can be a great help. Shedding a little light on the subject property can't hurt either. Be careful with the lights though, when overdone it could actually send the message that the lights are on, but no body's home. If your home has a sprinkler system that is on a timer, you may want to set it up to operate intermittently while you're away too. Just be sure to abide by any watering restrictions that might be in place.

While leaving some lights on or utilizing items on timers might give the impression that someone is home. Someone actually being in the home is a much better idea. Try to get a trusted friend or family member to temporarily take up residence in your home while you are away. Your home will truly be more secure and you will be able to enjoy your time away that much more knowing that it is.

If you already have a security system, use it. If you haven't used it in quite some time and cannot remember exactly how, consult your instruction manual or your security company well in advance of your departure date. This will help you to avoid a great deal of last minute frustration. If you plan to have a house or pet sitter, ensure that they know how to operate the security system too. You should also communicate your vacation plans with your monitoring company. Let them know things like: the dates you will be away, your return date, if the house will be vacant or the numbers for your house or pet sitter, if there is to be one. Some companies may also let you request immediate dispatch if the home is to be completely vacant. This may temporarily bypass the need for a verification call to the home, which is required by most police departments and could speed up the dispatch process. You may also want to give them the numbers where you will be staying for ease of contacting you should they need to.
If you don't have a security system and are thinking about getting one, plan ahead. Security companies get a rush of business around vacation time too. The best companies will book up just like the best hotels at the beach. You should do your research and shopping well in advance to ensure that you can get your security system installed in time and that you get to use your alarm company of choice.

With a little planning you can enjoy your dream vacation without the worry of a burglary nightmare.

Contact me at kellywicks@atlasalarms.com for more information.

Home Security Monitoring

If you do not already have a monitored home security system, you might be completely unaware of the options that are available to you. Even if you already have security monitoring, you still might not be fully aware of the options available beyond your current monitored home security system. In its most basic sense home security monitoring protects your family and possessions from burglary but it can do so much more than that.

Protection from fire is just one of the other capabilities of a monitored home security system. While a monitored security system will not prevent fires, it can sound an alarm that could summon the fire department quickly enough to prevent catastrophic damage to your property. Many home security systems have a smoke detection system that enables the security system to detect the presence of smoke which could indicate a fire in the house. When this (fire) alarm is triggered, a message is sent to the Alarm Control Centre which alerts the operators that smoke has been detected in the home. The operators will then contact the property owner to determine whether it is a false alarm or a true emergency. If it is an emergency the Alarm Control Centre Operator will contact the local fire department to alert them to the fire on the property.

For this and more monitoring information please feel free to contact me at kellywicks@atlasalarms.com or visit Atlas Alarms Ltd. at http://www.atlasalarms.com/

I look forward to hearing from you!

Home Security 101

Congratulations, you have now decided to go ahead with a residential security system. Where to start?

This can be a very daunting decision, so many companies to choose from and so many views on the subject. Word of mouth is the best place to start when researching security alarm companies. Friends, neighbours or family members all are great resource tool. Yellow pages or the Internet are also good resource tools to implement. This can still be over whelming to say the least! Choose a couple of different companies to contact, each will have their own view on the subject and will advertise different packages to choose from. Remember your home is not a cookie cutter home therefore the cookie cutter package may not fit your security requirements. It is best to have a professional security representative visit your home and provide you with a professional quotation. Keep in mind when comparing the security company quotations that your should compare apples to apples; same number of door/window contacts, motion detectors, keypads, term of agreement and location of the alarm monitoring centre.

Facts to know about home security systems; what are the devices to be used?

Door/window devices or known as magnetic contacts are placed in the door/window frame and are triggered when the door/window are opened.

Motion sensors or motion detectors are placed through out your home to detect movement of an intruder once inside the home. Pet Immune Motion detectors are also available.

Keypads are the device that you use to operate (arm or disarm) the security system, normally placed at the main entry to your home. Additional keypads can be placed in locations such as master bedrooms or secondary entry points to your home.

Control panel this is the "brain" of the security system and is placed in a secure location within your home. A home owner rarely if ever has to access the control panel.

Smoke sensors or detectors are just that, smoke detectors, however the alarm company smoke detectors are connected to the security system and will send a "fire" signal to the monitoring centre.

There are two basic installation methods of security systems; hardwired and wireless or in some circumstances hybrid which is a combination of both hardwired and wireless devices. Hardwired means that each device has a wire connecting it to the main control panel, normally the wire is hidden in your crawl space, attic or unfinished basement. Wireless devices are just that - they are wireless, they are connected to the main control panel via RF signals.

Overwhelmed yet? Yes it is a bit confusing and that is why you should have a professional security representative visit your home. The professional is best to determine the number of points (entry areas) that are at risk and whether or not your home should be hard wired or wireless.

A monitored security system vs a non-monitored (local) security system.

When a monitored security system is activated, it connects to a monitoring centre via the phone line. If a detector goes off while the system is activated, the phone line automatically sends a signal to our monitoring centre. When a non-monitored security system is activated you are on your own, you can hope that the neighbours may hear the alarm siren and call the authorities but in today's society we are all trained to avoid others problems. Therefore for the few dollars a month it costs for security alarm monitoring is well worth the investment, besides most insurance companies will provide you with a discount upon proof of a monitored security system.