Rolling our clocks back for the end of daylight saving time offers a reminder to check our smoke detectors and batteries. Fresh batteries and detectors will help protect our loved ones and property.
As an interesting Good Housekeeping article notes, the twice-yearly synchronization of our computers is, of course, automatic. Resetting our clocks and other devices requires manual intervention — so it’s a great policy to simultaneously and routinely check our smoke alarms’ power sources, too.
The Risk of Fire
Why should you add battery checkup to your list of things to do? Well, according to a survey cited in the article, only 57 percent of those who owned fire alarms had followed best practices and checked their alarms in the six months prior to being polled.
The U.S. Consumer Protection Agency echoes the findings of the magazine article, noting that in the United States, annually, there are:
- About 330,000 home fires
- Roughly 2,200 deaths
- Some 11,000 emergency-room related injuries
Maintaining Smoke Alarms
Proper installation and maintenance of smoke alarms will reduce risk. When adding the alarm test to your daylight-saving time to-do list, there are some best practices to observe that will reduce risks and make the process more streamlined.
According to Good Housekeeping:
- When removing the cover, lift it or twist it off — although sometimes the entire alarm detaches from the base
- Replace battery with a new one (typically they are 9-volt)
- Snap cover or battery back into place
- Press test button to ensure it’s operational — it should emit a beep or chirp
While you are checking the smoke detector, you should also examine the manufacturer’s stamp indicating the year the device was made. Detectors lose their efficacy over time, and they need to be replaced every 10 years or less to remain up to code.
To go even further, install both smoke and carbon monoxide detection solutions. You can also procure monitoring services from a local provider who can immediately detect the presence of smoke or dangerous gasses and alert you and first responders.
But above all, make daylight saving time an occasion to consider safety as well as punctuality.
Next Steps
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Daylight Savings: Don’t Forget to Check the Fire Alarms
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamRolling our clocks back for the end of daylight saving time offers a reminder to check our smoke detectors and batteries. Fresh batteries and detectors will help protect our loved ones and property.
As an interesting Good Housekeeping article notes, the twice-yearly synchronization of our computers is, of course, automatic. Resetting our clocks and other devices requires manual intervention — so it’s a great policy to simultaneously and routinely check our smoke alarms’ power sources, too.
The Risk of Fire
Why should you add battery checkup to your list of things to do? Well, according to a survey cited in the article, only 57 percent of those who owned fire alarms had followed best practices and checked their alarms in the six months prior to being polled.
The U.S. Consumer Protection Agency echoes the findings of the magazine article, noting that in the United States, annually, there are:
Maintaining Smoke Alarms
Proper installation and maintenance of smoke alarms will reduce risk. When adding the alarm test to your daylight-saving time to-do list, there are some best practices to observe that will reduce risks and make the process more streamlined.
According to Good Housekeeping:
While you are checking the smoke detector, you should also examine the manufacturer’s stamp indicating the year the device was made. Detectors lose their efficacy over time, and they need to be replaced every 10 years or less to remain up to code.
To go even further, install both smoke and carbon monoxide detection solutions. You can also procure monitoring services from a local provider who can immediately detect the presence of smoke or dangerous gasses and alert you and first responders.
But above all, make daylight saving time an occasion to consider safety as well as punctuality.
Next Steps
Read more →
Have A Happy & Safe Halloween
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamHalloween is upon us. A magical time for ghosts and goblins – or princes and princesses – to scamper through their neighborhoods in search of sweets and other treats.
At American Alarm, we love the spookiest day of the year. While we make last minute costume decisions (Thanos or Black Widow?), courtesy of the Massachusetts State Fire Marshall and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we want to offer some helpful tips to ensure that you and your children have a spooktacular All Hallow’s Eve:
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Keep Halloween Spooky — But Safe
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamNational Fire Prevention Week just passed, and we’re heading to October 31 and all its trick-or-treating fun.
Halloween presents its own set of risks, however, and we should think of special ways to protect our homes, loved ones and property. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), among the fire risks are traditional Halloween paraphernalia and activities:
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Fighting Fire with Fire Alarms
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamThe passage of Fire Prevention Week offers an opportunity to re-evaluate our fire protection. Simply being aware of the risk is inadequate – alarm systems and procedures need to be in place for true fire safety.
As a FEMA press release about October being National Fire Protection Month notes, “most Americans underestimate their risk for fire, and many either lack emergency response plans – or fail to practice them with fire drills.”
FEMA also notes how in a typical house fire, there may be only one or two minutes after an alarm sounds to escape the premises. A small flame can become a major blaze in just 30 seconds. There isn’t a lot of room for delay once fire breaks out.
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Protect Your Business During Fire Prevention Month
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamIt’s National Fire Prevention Month through October — and a great time to evaluate your fire alarm system. These can be a key part of a holistic approach to protect your business, employees and customers.
Fire, unfortunately, remains a major risk to business owners here in New England and beyond. When a fire strikes, it may completely ruin your office, factory or retail shop. And if the fire doesn’t completely destroy your workplace, it can severely damage on-site gear and property. That can leave you unable to function properly for weeks or months — adding lost business to the price tag of the fire itself.
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Fire Detection/Prevention: Getting the Alarm and Getting it Right
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamOctober 6 is Fire Prevention Week in North America, and it’s an appropriate occasion to think about how we can ensure our loved ones, homes, and property can be better protected. At American Alarm, we take the danger of fire especially seriously: A deadly fire’s aftermath was the reason why the company was launched.
Fire remains a very real threat in New England, and beyond. An alarm (preferably with a monitoring service) is a proven way of proactively detecting the presence of smoke before the fire is out of hand. For instance, this past September, an empty Waterford, Connecticut house was engulfed in flames before neighbors could report the blaze and the fire department could locate it.
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5 Ways Seniors Can Prevent Falls, Stay Independent
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamOctober 1 will be the United Nations’ International Day of Older Persons. It’s an opportunity to consider our senior citizens and ensure they are as independent, safe and comfortable as possible.
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Empty Nest with School in Session? Beware Burglars
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamClasses have started, and children are out of the house in New England. That means during regular business hours, your home is empty and more vulnerable to burglars than in the summer months.
Burglary is a serious problem. In 2017 — the most recent year with reliable statistics — some 1.4 million burglaries were committed across the United States, says the FBI. That’s about 18 percent of all property crimes committed in 2017.
The overall cost in property loss ran to about $3.4 billion, and the robbery of residential properties represented some 67 percent of all burglary crimes. Unfortunately, police only solve about 13 percent of burglary cases, Alarms.org reports.
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School Vandalism is Costly: Security Systems Can Help
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamSchool is back in session, which means school vandalism unfortunately tends to rise accordingly. Surveillance and security solutions can help school administrators to deter or resolve such incidents.
School-related vandalism — a type of crime involving any damage or defacement of school property — is a real problem in Massachusetts and beyond. According to the Vandalism at School website, the annual price tag to remedy this kind of crime runs at around $8 billion nationally.
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Restaurant Employees Take Big Bites of Their Companies’ Profits
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamNew England’s small- and medium-sized restaurants (and other businesses) face a persistent internal problem: employee theft. Luckily, there are measures you can take to prevent it.
National statistics of employee-on-employer crime are sobering, according to a Forbes article. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that 75 percent of employees have stolen from their employers at least once. Companies with 150 employees or less are particularly vulnerable to internal financial or data theft, as well as other similar crimes.
The Chamber also determined that roughly 30 percent of business failures are caused by employee fraud and abuse. The toll of workplace thieving to the United States economy is some $50 billion annually, says a CNBC article (citing a statistic from Statistic Brain).
Cash on Tap in Restaurant Business
Because the bar and restaurant industry is often a cash business with few paper trails — one that relies heavily on people-intensive processes — there is an especially high risk of employee fraud and outright theft. There are many vulnerable points, from servers to wait staff, bartenders to kitchen help, all the way to the back office employees.
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