Three Reasons Why the Safety of Your Family Should Be Monitored by a Professional

Editor’s Note: This is the final article in a three-part series on tips to secure the home, highlighting the benefits of professional monitoring for fire safety issues.

Home is where priceless memories are made and heirlooms are stored. For most people, it’s also the largest investment they will ever make. The idea of it being reduced to ashes is unthinkable. Sadly, seven people die every day from a home fire and more than $7 billion in property damage occurs every year due to fire. Education, monitoring and proper alerts are the key when it comes to fire safety. Following are several tips to help keep families safe from a house fire:

1. Consider the Limits of Battery-Operated Detectors
   While having a battery-operated smoke and Carbon Monoxide (CO) detector is better than nothing, battery-operated detectors have limitations – depending on where they are placed and how often they are tested. Homeowners could be taking unnecessary risks if detectors are not placed in the right location nor connected to other detectors, remote warning devices or a central monitoring station.

   The American Red Cross recommends that smoke detectors be installed inside every bedroom and outside sleeping areas, plus every floor. If those recommendations are not followed and a smoke detector is located outside a bedroom or on another floor, a sound sleeper may not hear a smoke detector, especially if the bedroom door is closed.

   Battery-operated detectors also will not work if their batteries are not periodically replaced. Too many fire casualties occur in homes where detectors fail to function because their batteries are dead, disconnected or removed.

   Some homes have a hard-wired smoke alarm system. However, many hardwired detectors are not connected to other detectors or remote warning devices in the home. Homeowners should consider installing a system that is connected, so that if one alarm sounds, they all will sound.
   
   
2. Know How to Call In Case of an Emergency
   Smoke detectors play a crucial role in alerting others of a house fire. Access sensors and glass-break detectors can identify if a break-in is in progress. These devices can even save lives. But what if the alarm sounds and no one is home to hear it? A fire or burglary could develop without anyone taking action to protect what’s valuable and invaluable inside.
   
   When located on all levels of a residence and in all bedrooms, monitored detectors provide the best kind of early warning protection – whether the family is home or away. When a Resideo professional installs a whole-home security, life safety or automation system in the home, the homeowner can be connected to potentially life-saving services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
   
   For example, if smoke or deadly CO is sensed in the home, the system alarm will sound and immediately send a message to a central monitoring station that will immediately contact the homeowner and dispatch the local emergency personnel. Meanwhile, the family can rush out of the home to safety. The automatic dispatch feature was especially important when one of our customers recently forgot to grab their cell phone in the midst of the fire emergency.
   
   
3. Seek Out the Latest Solutions in Fire Safety
   In addition to smoke detectors, there are additional solutions that can be installed to defend the home against a fire:
   
   
   • Honeywell Home SiXCOMBO detectors identify smoke, heat and CO, and are linked – so if one goes, they all go. For instance, if a fire starts in the garage and the kids are in the basement, the alarm in the basement will sound to ensure they will hear it. As part of a home security system, monitored detectors provide both an alternating current (AC) primary power supply and a rechargeable back-up battery.
      
   • A home fire sprinkler system complements smoke detectors, providing a way to fight flames immediately before the fire department is even notified. Installed as part of the Resideo security system, only the home fire sprinklers near the smoke will turn on. To learn more, see the National Fire Protection Association reporting on myths vs. facts about home sprinklers.

There’s no question about it: the main benefit of having a professionally installed security system means there are professionals monitoring it. Not only is proper monitoring important, education also is key for home safety. Talk to one of Resideo’s trained professional security installers to find a monitored alarm system that’s right for you.