Burglar Alarms and Home Security

Archive for the ‘Monitoring’ Category

The National Bureau of Fire and Alarm Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that is composed of the industries involved with protection from threats of intrusion, more specifically with unwanted loss of life and property. Membership to the National Bureau of Fire and Alarm Association is of two types—the regular membership and the associate membership.

The regular members enjoy privileges such as representation and advocacy, training, other key players in the industry such as leaders, mentors, and other companies whom you could rely on, information on issues that affect the industry, exposure to a wider audience, and savings and discounts on certain services.

Membership to the said association will build the company’s reputation because of the reliability and credibility of the National Bureau of Fire and Alarm Association. Moreover, the association provides up to five million dollars worth of insurance in general liability and errors and omissions through the Security America Risk Retention Group.

This insurance is exclusive only to the members of the National Bureau of Fire and Alarm Association. They will also help in employee recruitment through the website of wildbullet.com, a leader in the recruitment sites.

On the other hand, associate members of the National Bureau of Fire and Alarm Association are given the privilege of participation in the issues and decisions of the association as well as with the conferences that they have. Moreover, they are given a way to contact other members of the association to expand their business contacts through the listings and through the conferences.

They will also be given the much-needed exposure to both the consumers and the other members via newsletters and other means of publications such as the coupon program. The coupon program is free exclusively for associate members.

Membership to the said association will benefit either of the two types of members. The professional development and growth they provide their members are among the perks to be availed of. Moreover, the reputation and credibility of the organizations are what consumers first look at when they deal with the company so it is very important that the company is attached to an association like the National Bureau of Fire and Alarm Association.

One could apply for membership to the organization through a form downloaded at their website, www.alarm.org. Once the form is completed, it can be sent through fax number (214) 260-5979 with the text that reads Attn: NBFAA Membership. The dues to be paid vary with each membership and can be estimated at their website.

Tags: Home Security, Burglaries, Burglar Alarms, Alarm Systems, Alarm, Wholesale

A burglar alarm system that emits a loud siren at the slightest sign of intrusion may appear to give adequate protection against burglaries and provides peace of mind. The thought that the intruder will flee once the alarm is set off certainly gives the homeowner a sense of security. But there are instances where an alarm being set off creates a situation that may place the safety of the homeowner at risk.

Imagine a scenario where an alarm sounding off panics an intruder who is already inside the house. Instead of fleeing, the disoriented burglar may just decide to dig in and stay put, creating a situation where the owner will be trapped inside the house with a dangerous and possibly armed intruder. This situation is further exacerbated in cases when neighbors ignore, or fail to hear the alarm, or when the homeowner himself has no way of sending out a call for help. Burglar alarm monitoring systems were developed to avoid the many pitfalls brought about by this kind of a scenario.

Once activated by a break-in, a burglar alarm monitoring system typically sounds off a loud siren and automatically sends out a distress call for police assistance using the household telephone line. The distress call is normally received by the call center of the burglar alarm monitoring system provider, which immediately calls the homeowner to confirm that the alarm has not been accidentally set off. Once it has been determined that a break-in did occur and that a robbery is in progress, the call center quickly notifies the nearest police station and gives the location of the house where the intrusion occurred. While these private call centers act as the central reporting unit, there are places where the local police department maintains its own monitoring center where distress calls are directly channeled instead.

Since the burglar alarm monitoring system is an electric device, what happens in case of a power failure, or when the intruder cuts off the telephone line? In cases of a power outage, the alarm system’s internal battery automatically takes over and provides critical power source for the burglar alarm monitoring system. The alarm system’s battery can operate up to several hours until the local power utility is able to restore service. To prevent alarm system failure, the call center monitors battery charge levels and informs the homeowner of drastic changes in battery charge. Regular battery maintenance or the purchase of new batteries, when needed, is to the account of the homeowner.

There are also burglar alarm systems that make use of an internal cellular phone to send out distress calls. This feature is desirable particularly in cases when telephone lines are down due to hurricanes, or when the intruder intentionally cuts the telephone line of the house that he is breaking into. While these are a bit more expensive, burglar alarm monitoring systems that have effectively evolved from product to service, are well worth the price of the property and privacy that they are supposed to protect.

Tags: Home Protection, Burglar Alarms, Alarms, Alarm, Burglaries, Home Security

Basically, a burglar alarm is a deterrent to break-ins and intrusions into your home. When somebody breaks into your home, the burglar alarm gives off a loud high-pitched sound that alerts the homeowner and neighbors which normally scares away an intruder. Well and good if the intruder runs away. But what if for some reason, he panics and barges into one of the rooms in your house where you or your loved ones are peacefully asleep? A dangerous and potentially life- threatening situation could quickly develop especially if the intruder is armed. A burglar alarm monitoring system can help prevent this situation by alerting police and security authorities who could quickly send units to your residence to help secure the safety of your home and family.

The moment an intruder breaks into your home, the burglar alarm monitoring system sounds off the siren, takes control of your telephone system and sends out a distress call to your security call center. Upon receipt of your system’s distress call, the call center gets in touch by telephone with the homeowner to verify that the distress call is not a false alarm. Upon determination that a robbery is indeed in progress, the call center accordingly notifies the police station and provides details about the location of the break-in.

Most burglar alarm monitoring systems are equipped with their own power source like an internal battery so that even if there is a power interruption, as in cases of hurricanes or when the intruder intentional cuts off your power lines, the system will still be operational. The battery charge levels of the burglar alarm monitoring system is continuously monitored by the security call center which notifies the homeowner in case the system’s battery charge level changes drastically and needs to be replaced.

Some burglar alarm monitoring systems are fail proof even when the telephone lines are down because they are equipped with their own internal cellular phone unit which is programmed to dial up the call center and issue a distress call in case of a break-in. Burglar alarm monitoring systems are more expensive not because of the extra features of the burglar alarm unit itself, but mainly because of its capability to alert and request for police assistance. Despite the extra cost, no amount is too high a price to pay for your peace of mind, the security of your home and the safety and protection of your family.

Tags: Burglar Alarms, Alarm Systems, Security, House Alarm, Wholesale, Alarms