Fire Inspections: Is Your Commercial Building Up to Code?

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

No building is completely safe from a fire. In 2013, there were approximately 93,000 non-residential building fires in the US—accounting for 65 deaths, 1,425 injuries, and nearly $2.5 billion in losses, according to the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Data Center.

Putting an efficient and effective fire prevention program plan in place, ensuring that your commercial fire alarm system is operating properly, and adhering to your state’s fire code and ordinances could prevent many of these fires. Before the fire inspectors in your town come out to inspect your building, you should be sure your property is up to code.

Here are 10 of the fire safety codes that must be adhered to in commercial buildings in Massachusetts: (Check the applicable laws in your state to identify the fire safety codes for commercial buildings.)

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4 Holiday Retail Loss Prevention Tips

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

4 Holiday Retail Loss Prevention TipsThe holiday season is the busiest and most profitable time of the year for retailers. It’s also a busy and profitable time for criminals.

Shoppers are flooding the malls, big box stores, and smaller neighborhood shops looking for just the right gifts for family and friends. With all the extra foot traffic, businesses must be extra vigilant, paying particular attention to thwarting shoplifters, which may include employees.

Here are four holidays loss prevention tips to help you protect your bottom line:

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4 Ways Employees Can Compromise Your Network Security

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

4 Ways Employees Can Compromise Your Network SecurityIf you ask CIOs and business owners what keeps them up at night one of the answers you’ll hear most often is securing their corporate networks and their sensitive data.

However, the risks don’t just come from bad guys outside an organization; rather some of the greatest threats to an enterprise’s data security often come from the very people entrusted with protecting it–its employees.

Of course, that doesn’t mean workers intentionally compromise their companies’ networks and data. What it may mean, though, is that they haven’t received the proper security training, or the security policies of the business aren’t being properly enforced.

Here are four ways employees can compromise your network security–and what you can do to prevent it:

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American Alarm Video System Helps Police Crack Down on Texting While Driving

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

It was a clear July morning and two Rutland, Massachusetts police officers were walking across Main Street in a marked crosswalk. The approaching Ford Explorer had plenty of time to stop for the pedestrians. Instead, it was almost a tragedy.

The alert police officers jumped away from the oncoming vehicle just in time, or else they would have been run down. The distracted driver was texting.


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Is Your Business Prepared for a Disaster?

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Is Your Business Prepared for a Disaster?Can your business survive a major fire, hurricane, flood, or other natural disaster? The fact is 25 percent of businesses that are forced to close because of fire or weather-related disasters never reopen.

While you can’t lower the risk of a natural disaster like a hurricane, there are steps you can take to protect your company from nature’s wrath. Putting a disaster recovery plan in place – and reviewing it annually – is key to keeping your business secure in the face of catastrophe.

Here are some tips to help you plan ahead to better protect your employees, your customers, and your assets in the event of a natural disaster:

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Battery Crimes? Video Surveillance Captures Criminal

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Battery Crimes? Video Surveillance Captures CriminalIt was a beautiful August day in New Haven, sunny and breezy, with walkers and cyclists out enjoying the weather. In one neighborhood a man was looking for more than good exercise — after checking to see if anyone is watching, he pedaled onto the front yard of a home and started to poke around.

According to WFSB, he was after car batteries, hot items on the scrap metal that sell at 40 cents a pound or more thanks to the precious metals inside.

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Providence Election Spurs New Focus on Public Safety

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Providence Election Spurs New Focus on Public SafetyThe mayoral race in Providence is heating up — both Republican and Democratic candidates are calling out opponents who they say haven’t done enough. Their big concern? Crime.

According to a recent WPRI.com article, the crime reduction plan forwarded by Republican Michael Solomon came under fire from Democrat Brett Smiley, who says that his opponent “has not provided any real leadership on public safety.” Solomon’s campaign manager shot back at Smiley, calling his statement “more sad, empty rhetoric from someone who hasn’t even lived in the city for ten years.”

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New Boston Surveillance Surfaces: Who Watches the Watchers?

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

New Boston Surveillance Surfaces Who Watches the WatchersBoston 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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6 Reasons To Test & Inspect Your Business Fire Alarm System Regularly

/2 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging Team

6 Reasons To Test & Inspect Your Business Fire Alarm System RegularlyBusiness 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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Top Ten Ways to Prevent Shoplifting

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Shoplifting. It may seem like an innocent crime, but it’s costing retailers nearly 11 billion dollars in loss every year. Some of the most common items include clothing, books, music, jewelry, and pretty much anything you can fit in your pocket or purse.

A good video surveillance system can help identify and prosecute a suspect after a theft occurs — but, wouldn’t you like to stop it from happening altogether?

In this video, American Alarm Blogging Team’s Sunny Gault will give you the top 10 ways to help you prevent shoplifting.

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