Alarm Monitoring…so important, so often overlooked. Now, I know I’ve said this before, but I’m going to say it again, if you have a home security system, you should have Central Station Alarm Monitoring. Ok, lets talk about why thats the case:
Scenario 1: Someone breaks into your home when you are away
With Monitoring: Your system sounds an alarm locally, and then notifies the central station. The central station will try to contact you, to avoid any false alarm responses, but if they are unable to do so, almost immediately, they will notify local police and/or emergency services for dispatch.
Without Monitoring: Your system sounds an alarm locally. Additionally, some panels will allow your system to call you and notify you of an event. You can rush home or call the police. Only problem is, in most cases, the police won’t dispatch for you, an average homeowner, unless you are a physical witness of the events. Sorry.
Scenario 2: Your home catches on fire when you are away.
With Monitoring: Your smoke/fire detectors sound locally, and your system immediately notifies the central station. They immediately notify emergency personnel without attempting to contact you first. Fire and rescue will be dispatched immediately.
Without Monitoring: Your smoke/fire detectors sound locally. Hopefully a neighbor sees the smoke/fire in time to call a local fire department.
Scenario 3: Someone breaks into your home while you’re there. The person finds you and tells you to disarm the system immediately.
With Monitoring: One of two things: You go to your system and enter a durress passcode. This will silence the alarm system, announce that its been disarmed, etc. At the same time, it will send a duress alert to the central station, who will immediately dispatch police. Second option. You can’t disarm in time, and your central station still calls. You tell them it was a false alarm and when they ask you to verify using your verbal password, you give them the verbal duress password. The intruder will be none the wiser, but central station will immediately dispatch emergency personnel.
Without Monitoring: You go to your system and enter the correct password. The siren, your only source of notification is gone. You hope that one of your neighbors heard.
Scenario 4: Your home catches on fire when you are at home.
With Monitoring: You focus on the important things, getting yourself and your family out of the house, taking any valuables, memorobilia you can grab on the way. At the same time, your system contacts the central station who immediately contacts your local fire department. You were able to focus on the most important things, and still have a fighting chance of saving your home.
Without Monitoring: You focus on the important things as well. At the same time, your system does nothing, other than sounding a local smoke/fire alarm. You hope that you neighbors hear the noise and call 911 so you still have a fighting chance of saving your home.
The above seem a bit dramatic? It may seem far-fetched to imagine someone holding you up in your home while you enter a duress passcode, or your house catching on fire. But really, you know its not that far fetched. Thats why you have an alarm system, thats why you have smoke detectors. They’re not useless without alarm system monitoring, but they aren’t working to their full capacity.
And since you can get UL-Listed, Home
Alarm Monitoring for only $9.95/month from SafeMart, why wouldn’t you?
