Summer is in full swing and that means backyard barbecues with family and friends and roasting marshmallows over open fire grills. It also means the potential for devastating grilling-related fires.
For example, on August 17, 2013, at 5:53 p.m., the Newton, Mass. Fire Department responded to a gas grill fire. The grill, which had been left unattended, ignited the exterior of the home. Damages from this fire were estimated to be $75,000, according to Massachusetts Fire Marshall Stephen Coan.
In 2013, 85 fires involving open fire grills were reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System. Two people were injured in the fires, which caused about $300,000 worth of damages. Seventy-five percent of all grill fires occurred between May and September, according to the fire marshal.
A home fire alarm system is the best defense in the event of a fire, but here are seven other tips from the Fire Marshall to help you keep your family and your home safe while you’re grilling up those hot dogs and burgers.
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6 Tips for a Safe and Fun Family Road Trip
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamYou and your family have been mapping out your route for months. Now you’ve packed your suitcases, set your home security alarm, and you’re ready to hit the open road.
Before you and your family set off, here are six tips to ensure you and your family have a safe and fun-filled trip. Read more →
New Boston Surveillance Surfaces: Who Watches the Watchers?
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamBoston is getting a next generation closed-circuit television (CCTV) network to help monitor for public threats. As noted by a recent Daily Caller article, the system designed by Texas-based Behavioral Recognition Systems (BRS) will feature a kind of artificial intelligence (AI) which allows it to “recognize, learn and permanently register abnormal behavior.”
While the system has real potential, it also comes with risk: Who’s watching these watchers?
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Why You Should Think Like a Burglar
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamWhen you’ve decided to set up your new home security system, you’ll also need to take the time to actually think like a burglar. In other words, if you were a burglar, where would you target and why? The mentality of a burglar is one of exploitation and knowing where to target at the right time.
We recently published an article about the mindset of a thief from a business security perspective, and wanted to switch gears and focus on home security. Taking the time to protect your home cannot be underestimated; it is your most prized possession and placing it in this type of jeopardy is not worth the risk.
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7 Outdoor Fire Safety Tips
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamSummer is in full swing and that means backyard barbecues with family and friends and roasting marshmallows over open fire grills. It also means the potential for devastating grilling-related fires.
For example, on August 17, 2013, at 5:53 p.m., the Newton, Mass. Fire Department responded to a gas grill fire. The grill, which had been left unattended, ignited the exterior of the home. Damages from this fire were estimated to be $75,000, according to Massachusetts Fire Marshall Stephen Coan.
In 2013, 85 fires involving open fire grills were reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System. Two people were injured in the fires, which caused about $300,000 worth of damages. Seventy-five percent of all grill fires occurred between May and September, according to the fire marshal.
A home fire alarm system is the best defense in the event of a fire, but here are seven other tips from the Fire Marshall to help you keep your family and your home safe while you’re grilling up those hot dogs and burgers.
Read more →
Safeguarding your Home for Summer Vacation
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamSummer vacation is here, kids nationwide have been looking forward to the opportunity to kick back, relax, and enjoy some quality time at home. Many families will be leaving their homes to vacation and enjoy their summer vacation abroad. Unfortunately, vacationing can present some home security risks – making it extremely important to conduct a few checks before locking up your home. Read more →
Home Alone Summer Safety Tips for Kids
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamBefore you know it, school will be out for the summer and you’ll be trying to figure out if your child is old enough to stay home alone during the day while you’re at work or out running errands.
Many states, including Massachusetts, don’t have laws on the books indicating at what age a child is old enough to stay home alone. However, the Washington, D.C.-based Safe Kids Worldwide says that developmentally, children are typically ready to be home alone around the age of 12 or 13.
Despite your child’s age, only you can determine if he or she is ready to stay home alone this summer.
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6 Reasons To Test & Inspect Your Business Fire Alarm System Regularly
/2 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging TeamBusiness fire alarm systems are designed to protect your business and employees from fire and smoke, but you can’t count on them if they’re not tested and inspected on a routine basis. Having your fire alarm system regularly serviced is critical to the safety of your building’s occupants.
The best way to discover whether your system is in need of maintenance is to have it professionally tested. Inspection and maintenance by licensed technicians can also help you cut down on expenses by preventing emergency repairs and costly false alarms that you haven’t included in your budget.
Testing your business fire alarm system on a regular basis ensures that it’s in compliance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 72 standards, as well as the local fire safety requirements and your insurance company’s fire alarm requirements.
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Shoplifting Prevention Series: Are Your Employees in on the Action?
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamRecently, a Framingham, Mass. man was arrested for allegedly stealing $1,367.30 in merchandise from his employer, the Express store in the Natick Mall.
Employee theft is more common than you might think. In fact, every year, retail employees rip off about $15 billion worth of merchandise – 44% of all stolen goods – from their employers, according to the National Retail Federation.
Workers can shoplift in much the same way as customers by hiding merchandise in their purses, pockets, or bags and then taking it out of the store. Employees can also steal money from their registers, let friends or family members steal merchandise, or even commit credit card or check fraud.
Retail store employees are constantly presented with opportunities to steal cash or merchandise. Here are four tips to help you cut down on employee theft from experts who spoke with Entrepreneur magazine.
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Fire Safety for Older Adults
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamAn elderly couple in Methuen, Mass. died after a two-alarm blaze swept through their ranch-style home at the end of February, according to Boston.com.
The fire broke out about 3 a.m. on February 26, quickly engulfing the single-family structure. The man and woman were found in separate parts of the home after the fire had been extinguished, according to State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan.
Coan told the newspaper that since January 1st, 11 people had died in fires in Massachusetts – five of the victims had been elderly.
Additionally in February, a couple in their 80s died in a house fire in Concord, Mass., and a 90-year-old South Boston man died from injuries he suffered in a fire in his apartment.
“This has been a difficult year,” Coan told Boston.com. “The elderly population has been vulnerable in these fires.”
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How to Prevent Accidental Poisoning at Home
/by American Alarm Blogging TeamApproximately 90% of poisonings occur in the home and more than half of them involve children under 5. Those staggering statistics come courtesy of the Regional Center for Poison Control and Prevention Serving Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Exposure to poison can take the form of inhalation, ingestion, absorption through the skin, or injection (as in an insect sting), according to the center. Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is also a real danger. Although cases of CO poisoning increase during the cold weather, it is still the most common cause of poisoning deaths in the United States.
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