House Alarm at 0230; Cops Come Clear my House

[MeanStreaker]

My wife and I have talked about what we'd do if our house alarm ever went off in the middle of the night and last night was the first time we got to put our preparations to the test.

Our blaring alarm jarred us from a dead sleep at 2:30 AM. I fumbled for my glasses and made sure that the wife and both dogs were still in the room and that they didn't accidentally set it off. I grabbed the 870HD from beside the bed and racked in a round from the tube.

I looked at our alarm panel and it was tripped by the motion detector in our dining room. No doors were opened anywhere, but there is a window in there that could provide access to a burglar.

Wife and I hunkered down behind the bed as it's the farthest spot from the locked bedroom door and waited for the alarm company to call.

It turned out that nothing was wrong and the cops think that a cobweb blew in front of the motion sensor and set it off. I guess we're going to have to be more careful about our dusting.

Some things I learned that I thought might be useful to share. Feel free to comment so perhaps we can all learn:

-- First and foremost, I'm very thankful that the police are out there and do the job they do. They put their lives on the line to come clear my house when my alarm goes off? Immense kudos to them.

-- I thought the cops showed up very quickly after being dispatched from the alarm company, but it takes the alarm company about two minutes to call us to confirm, we then have a short discussion, then they call the cavalry. The whole process was probably a total of 10-12 minutes from the time the alarm went off until the police arrived out front. I plan on telling all of my friends that don't own firearms how long those 12 minutes feel. I felt a lot better having a big dog barking by the door, an 870 in my hands, and my wife holding an XD. (In all fairness here, my adrenaline was pumping... so it could have been a total of 5 minutes or it could have been 20. Not precisely sure. The point is that a lot can happen in that time!)

-- The wife needs to practice with the 870! She's been putting off some shotgun range time for awhile now and I think this will help get her out there. After the police gave us the all-clear, we thanked them, they left, and I took the bedside XD and flashlight and cleared the house again. I trusted them... but knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I saw everything myself. That left the wife with the 870 in the bedroom and even though we've gone over it before, she asked as I was leaving, "How does this thing work again?" Showed her the safety and how to cycle it. Maybe we need to leave her handgun out of the safe at night as well... but then that's two handguns and a shotgun. I might have thought that was overkill and would just be cumbersome before last night.

-- I've thought of this before, but haven't taken the time to do it. I need to put door keys on a glow stick that I can toss down to the arriving cops. Our bedroom window faces the driveway and front of the house. I (of course) would've been OK with it, but I'd hate to have to replace my front door after it's kicked down if they want to enter that way. Luckily this time, we gave the dispatcher our garage door code and they came in through that way. I don't know if cops prefer coming in through certain doors on certain houses or what? It's certainly not my place to tell them how to enter. Maybe they'd think I'm nuts telling them I'll throw down a key? Don't know. Any thoughts here?

-- On a similar note, I've thought about getting door braces (probably something like this). Now I wonder if that's a good idea. I have some windows that would probably be preferred entry for a home invader (hence the motion detectors)... so would that impede police entry? Don't know.

-- We need to move the land phone. Always kept that phone and the cell phone on her side of the bed (away from the door) but somehow it got moved to my side of the bed (closer to the door) and I never thought twice about it. Once we hunkered down behind her side, she had to crawl over and get the phone when the alarm company called while I covered the door. Not terrible... But not best.

-- I need to keep some pants next to the bed! After getting situated behind the bed, I threw on a shirt that was nearby... but all my pants were in the closet. Might be nice to have an old pair of jeans with a belt and holster permanently on within reach. Usually there's nothing outside the closet as I get yelled at for leaving things lay around. :roll: I haven't encountered police in just my boxers since my college days... but that's another story.

-- This isn't a frequent situation... but I was glad I was sober. Not very often, but sometimes, I'll tie one on with some friends during a ball game or something. I can't imagine waking up to our house alarm after partaking in a few too many. Something that made me think.

All in all, I'm just glad it was a false alarm and even that we had a chance to go through this on a dry run and find out what needs changed.

 

[30 cal slob]

yup, same issue with my dining room motion detector. have to dust and clean carefully.

sometimes, even crawling bugs will set off the motion detector.

 

[MeanStreaker]

Some points I forgot:

-- The plan was to try and keep an eye on the alarm panel so that we can see which motion detectors get tripped and can hopefully somewhat track movement. Found out last night that once one gets tripped, it continuously blinks and the others don't light up until you push the reset button. Good to know.

--This made me start to think about what will happen when kids are in the picture. Our "Five Year Plan" says we'll be talking about starting our family in the next couple years. That will throw a whole new wrinkle into the picture. Do I cover the stairs while she gathers the kids and brings them back? Does she cover? Do we both run to their room and wait everything out? That option is probably not preferred since there won't be an alarm panel or a phone. Let alone we'd have to be carrying firearms, flashlights, etc.

 

[ZeSpectre]

The "door jammer" brace would probably be best used in your bedroom to help you "bunker down" while waiting for the cops. I love their photo with that nice heavy brace on a big plate glass windowed door.

Drill holes into window slides and insert pins (nails work fine) so that they can only be opened a bit. If you want the windows wide open the pins are easy to remove from the inside.

As for when you have kids. Just like you should have a "fire drill" every now and then by setting off the smoke detector, you should have a "burgler drill" so everyone knows what to do if the alarm goes off.

Personally I say have the kids run into your room (assuming they are old enough) and you all bunker together.

 

[Lonestar49]

Another Cause to Concider

...

One other item will set off a motion detector, a "rapid, moving, 3 degree temperture change, either UP/warmer, OR DOWN/colder.

Many people have motion detectors that one, of the many beams, long, medium and short, range, *is looking at, and is within distance of one of these beams, at *an OPEN window a/o a AC/Heat VENT.

If your house is say, 72 degrees inside, that is why it will pick a a moving cat, dog, human, moving, as there is the rapid, 3 degree temp change it sees.

And the same goes for what I call: The Snowman effect, simply put, if your house is 70 - 72 degrees at night, and you have an open window that the motion detector sees, reaches, and a cold wind, breeze blows in, say, 60 degrees, it sees a rapid decrease in temp moving, thus the Alarm goes off.

To check if you have this situation, simply stand in front of a suspected window, then move back and forth and make note is the motion detector comes on, lights up itself, or its panel light comes on. If it does, you will have this problem again, if a breeze, or more windy conditions occur outside your 70 degree inside temp house. Same deal with a HOT wind as, all it will take is a "rapid 3 degree moving change of the the Motion detectors, ambient temperature, it is looking at.

Same deal if you have it in a place that is looking/hitting, an air vent, for heat or AC, it can set them off, easily. You can check this out, by waving your arm and hand back and forth in front of it, and have someone see if the motion detector lights, are coming on, being activated.

Same deal, house is 64, you set the heat for 70, heat/air comes on.. 90-110 degrees heater air, and moving.

AC is set for 75, it goes on at 78, but the air coming out is around 56 degrees.

All of it, no matter, hot or cold, is more than 3 degrees different than the ambient air temp in the house, and is MOVING..



LS



PS.. Some Motion detectors have a double heat and motion, not just passive, one-detection- method, but 2, Passive and Infrared, IIRC, and take a little more information to go off IIRC.

But to see if either kind is going off by either: an open window, or heat/AC vent, the test I mentioned will show you, yes it is, no it is not.

 

[Elmer Fudd]

We have had kids' metallic helium balloons set off the motion detector before. I carry during the day, and leave my pants with belt and IWB holster on the floor near the bed to put on in an emergency. I want a place to holster the pistol. The last thing I want in the chaos of this kind of event is the possibility of a loaded Glock being set down with two small children in the house.

I would be very careful clearing the house and leaving an untrained wife with a weapon. Make sure you impress upon her the fact that she is probably more likely to shoot you returning to the bedroom than a bad guy and she needs to keep the weapon pointed away from the door, people, etc. I would definitely have a pistol for her, not a shotty. Contrary to popular belief, you still have to aim with a shotgun, and follow up shots would be a lot easier with a pistol.

 

[Matt_W]

Teach the kids when they come along, not to move from their room if the alarm sounds during the night, would be one suggestion.

 

[dralarms]

Your points about the motion are dead on. I can offer 1 other suggestion, open the motion and place a moth ball inside the cover (be careful to place it where the cover will still close), I use silicone to make it stay in place. They last 3 or 4 years and keep the bugs out of and away from the motions for the most part.

 

[codlinjr]

your comment about the time delay before the police arrive is pretty common. In regards to business burglaries, I'd say 95% of the time, by the time we get to the scene, the bad guys have already grabbed what they were after and are long gone. I'm sure they know about the time delay also.

 

[Lonestar49]

Forgot

...

If you're motion detector is looking at a window that does allow, either, hotter air or, colder air, in, Day or Night, with system on, as I said, you most likely will get a false alarm whether you're home or away.

If you do not want to move the motion detector, simply keep that window, or any that are near by, closed, and the problem is solved.

Basically, like at my house, I have one window that will do this, so it stays closed if system is on, problem solved.

And, at our house, where our motion detector sits, the-one Heat/AC vent is out, 6ft, and slightly above it, and in front of it and, therefore, when ever the Heat or AC blows out of it, it mixes with the surrounding air, ambient room air, and the motion detector accepts the slow-rise in heat, or cooling, of the rooms ambient air temp, because its subtle, not rapid, in its eyes.

Same deal with a fireplace, hot embers or, hot fake logs, will, can, set them off. So, just stand right in front of it, move back and forth to see if your motion detector is looking at it, and if so, make sure it has cooled down enough before you activate your system. Allow enough time to let either to cool down some, and, least in our house, pulling the fire screen all the way shut, or putting a fire screen in front of a fireplace, that has been turned off, or burning out, does help reduce the heat signature, as well.


Heat, or Flames, will set off a motion detector, on the rapid 3 degree change, and that heat/air IS moving (rising) much faster than the surrounding ambient air within that space..

If you have doubts, just activate your system while home, and watch what it does with your fire place, as it only takes but a few minutes to see if it activates the motion detector, as, also, was the case at our house, but the closed fire screen, along with letting it cool down 30 mins before leaving, did the trick, in our case, and we were good to go.



LS


PS.. great hint, putting a small mothball within any motion detectors..

 

[LordGibson]

Teach the kids when they come along, not to move from their room if the alarm sounds during the night, would be one suggestion.

Someone else brought up a similar sentiment, and generally I agree. But be sure the kids know the difference between the fire alarm and security system alarm. Practice, practice, practice to be sure everyone in the home can tell the difference and responds accordingly.

If you're not 110% confident in their ability, teach them to act as though it were a fire alarm every time. You're far more likely (in most areas) to be the victim of fire than home invasion. And the last thing you want is your children hunkering down under the bed or in a closet (where firemen might have a hard time finding them) while flames lap at the bedroom door. . .

 

[Lonestar49]

Good Point LG

...

Indeed sir, indeed


LS

 

[balletto]

Add more components to your system?

Something to consider on the alarm system upgrade front is a glass-break detector in each room.

As I've had it explained to me, these devices are the only ones that will trigger the alarm prior to the bad guy getting in, giving you some extra warning, and them something to think about, before they fully commit to entering the house. Also, they don't false nearly as much as motion detectors.

 

[camslam]

Always good to read someone else's experience and learn from them.

Thanks for the post event analysis. It just goes to show you can never be to prepared.

This last summer we had an incident where we thought someone was in the basement of our house and while I was fairly prepared, it was good to get a scare and realize that I need to be ready for anything at any time.

 

[Katie]

I'll second what Balletto said about glass-break detectors. We have them all over the house, as our house has a lot of windows, and I'm glad for the added protection they provide, along with our motion sensors and alarm system in general.

I had a scare two weeks ago that involved our glass-break detectors that finally prompted me into getting my gun and CWP...

At 7:30 in the morning, I was alone in the house, getting ready for work, doing my normal business of taking care of our saltwater fish tank, when all of the sudden, I hear a loud BANG! from the back bedroom where the cats were locked up, and then the "panic" alarm went off.

<-- that was me.

I wasn't too worried at first, but I didn't shut the alarm off right away, because I had a little niggle of a bad feeling, so I waited for the alarm company to beep in on the 2-way. About fifteen seconds later, a woman beeped in and asked if everything was okay. She couldn't hear me over the blaring alarm, of course, so she immediately called the house.

I answered, ID'd myself and gave the password. The woman asked again if I was okay, and informed me that a glass-break detector had gone off. Immediately, my stomach sank, my heartbeat accelerated, and I thought I would pass out. My first thought was that someone had either busted through the one window in our bedroom, or had busted through the French doors. My boyfriend's shotgun was in the bedroom. I was in the kitchen, down the hall.

I grabbed the butcher knife from the knife-block next to me, and watched the end of the hallway with wide-eyed terror, waiting first to see the cats run out, and then the barrel of the shotgun. (I knew if a BG opened the bedroom door, the cats would make a run for the border.)

The woman asked if I wanted her to call the police, and I informed her that I was home alone and thought someone might be in our back bedroom. I told her to call both the police and Nick (my boyfriend.) So, she made the calls and stayed on the phone with me, asking me about my situation. Could I hear anything? (Not over the continuing alarm) Could I see anything? (I wasn't going to move!) Could I get to a door? (Yeah, right, and run across a BG's line of vision?!)

The minutes ticked slowly by, and I just stood there, clutching the knife in my left hand and the phone in my right, with a Tinkerbell blanket wrapped around me. I kept waiting to see the cats run out. I wondered if I could make it out the patio door, but would have to go through unlocking the door itself, and then unlocking the deadbolt...

Fifteen minutes went by, and I heard a car door slam outside... Nick actually made it home before the police did. He made a typical 20-25 minute morning drive in 15, bless him. (Police never came, even though the woman told them that I was home alone and believed there to be an intruder in the house.)

Nick barged in the house, ran into the kitchen, and made sure I was okay before checking the house out. I knew by then that there wasn't someone in the house, because it had been 15 minutes, and no one ever appeared.

In the end, we couldn't figure out what happened. The window and doors were fine, and nothing was broken/knocked over in our bedroom... It probably was a false alarm... maybe the cats were fighting and banged against the doors or something...

I have never been so sacred in my life, and I just kept thinking, "What would I really have done if I'd seen the cats run out?" I had a puny little knife. The odds are, the BG would have had a gun. He would have looked at me and laughed before he shot me. I never wanted to be so defenseless again.

The next weekend, I was taking the CWP class, and Nick bought me a hammerless, ported, snub-nose .38.

... Later on, Nick said I looked really cute, standing there with a knife and Tinkerbell blanket

 

[Matt_W]

Someone else brought up a similar sentiment, and generally I agree. But be sure the kids know the difference between the fire alarm and security system alarm. Practice, practice, practice to be sure everyone in the home can tell the difference and responds accordingly.

If you're not 110% confident in their ability, teach them to act as though it were a fire alarm every time. You're far more likely (in most areas) to be the victim of fire than home invasion. And the last thing you want is your children hunkering down under the bed or in a closet (where firemen might have a hard time finding them) while flames lap at the bedroom door. . .
__________________

Agreed.

We rely on smoke detectors to warn of fire and the security alarm to warn of intrusion, but as has been pointed out a fire could set off the security alarm which might drown out the smoke alarm/activate first.

However regardless of fire or intrusion it's probably best not to have small children running about in the period of time it takes for the parents to fully rouse themselves from their slumber.

Like you say though, it's all about having a plan and then sticking to it with practice so everyone is clear.

I must admit though if my security alarm had activated last night I would probably not thought 'fire' initially-something I will address.

 

[dralarms]

I always put a "voice driver" in an alarm that has smokes. that way there is NO QUESTION.

 

[Princi]

Dumb move

My alarm went off once in the middle of the night. I was home alone because my wife was on a business trip. I immediately thought: "false alarm". I ran down stairs to the front door, and attempted to quickly turn off the alarm. I finally got the code right, and then the phone call. It was zone 3, but what was on zone 3? I heard the wind blowing outside, and walked into the garage. I'd forgotten to dead-bolt the door from the garage to the patio and the wind blew it open.

I now have a new alarm system and a control panel up stairs. It has 34 zones including two water bugs, smokes and motion detectors. On the LCD readout, it tells you exactly which door, window, etc. has caused the alarm. One of the interesting things is that if you set the alarm, and then don't go out a door, it turns off the motion detectors because it knows you are still in the house.

Having my back to the house trying to turn off the alarm was a really bad move.