Quote:
Originally Posted by csnarpy
IMO, getting an alarm system is not about the the stuff in your house. It's about Life Safety. If someone breaks in while your sleeping, the siren alone can help scare off potential situations.
Not sure of other companies, but ADT has panic buttons on their keypads that are direct lines to the police/fire. These ARE 911 calls and they work. I accidently forgot to put a system on test, hit a panic button - to show the client - police were there within 5 mins.
Monitored Fire/Smoke alarms, CO detectors, flood detectors are invaluable towards life safety and maybe help preserve your property. IMO. These alone justify getting a system.
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I think a dog would be better for the "someone breaking in while you are sleeping" scenario. Our dog would go ape sheet, probably even wake up the neighbors.
For Fire & Smoke we've got four alarms, all wired to each other. In a real fire reacting to these would be our best chance of getting out. A few minutes later from a monitoring service might be too late. We've got CO2 alarms on every floor too. Not sure how long you have to get out when C02 starts getting dangerous, fires usually don't give you much time from what I've heard.
I've got motion lights outside, have re-enforced the deadbolt and hinges with thick plates and burly long screws. I'm debating putting some 3m security window film on the more vulnerable windows in my house.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OeYKWUTSGw