On Sunday, August 15, around 6 a.m., 91-year-old Luella Chamberlin from Arizona was awake and in her kitchen. As she started to prepare herself breakfast, she lost her footing and fell. It was a dire situation: she was alone, bleeding, and unable to get up. A feeling of panic began to overtake her, so she pressed the remote on her Monitronics monitored alarm system and hoped someone would help.
In our Dallas Monitoring Center, first-shift operator April Drayton had just started work when she intercepted Mrs. Chamberlin’s panic alarm. April accessed the two-way voice feature on the system and spoke with Mrs. Chamberlin, realizing immediately that an ambulance was needed. With the help of a colleague, April dispatched one within a minute.
April stayed on the line with Mrs. Chamberlin, calming and assuring her that help would soon be there. Within 10 minutes, the paramedics arrived and made a forced entry into the home. Once inside, they determined that Mrs. Chamberlin needed to be transported to a nearby hospital.
We checked in on Mrs. Chamberlin the next day–she had lost a lot of blood, but was safe and healing. “I got seven stitches in my head and I’m very weak,” she said. “[April] was so nice and polite. You don’t find them like that anymore. Thank you so much.”
Thank you, April, for your excellent work. You made a difference in a customer’s life.
Posted in: Behind Our Doors, Home Security
It’s jarring, to say the least, when an alarm system goes off. The sirens, the panicky feeling, the sense of urgency. So what DO you do?
First, is it a false alarm? Did you set it off by opening a window or walking past a motion sensor? If that’s the case, walk to your panel and disarm the system. Anytime your alarm sounds, you have 30 seconds to do this–if you cancel the alarm in that time, it is not considered an emergency and you may not receive a call from the Monitronics monitoring center. Do not disarm if there is a genuine emergency.
Here’s what to do in other situations:
Fire: Get out of your house as quickly as possible. We are going to dispatch the fire department when we get the alarm.
Medical emergency: When you receive a call from the Monitronics monitoring center, we will dispatch the emergency services and stay on the line with you until an ambulance arrives. Our average response time in 2009 was 22.1 seconds, so we’ll be calling or coming over your two-way voice panel quickly.
Burglary: Assess the situation. If you can leave the house, get out and call 911. You can also press the panic button on the alarm and we will dispatch the police immediately.
Carbon monoxide alarm: Leave the premise immediately we will dispatch the fire department.
Home invasion: Press the silent panic button on the alarm panel if you are able. Otherwise, cooperate with the intruder until the responding authorities arrive.
Posted in: Business Security, Home Security, Tuesday tip
Our own Monitronics employee Leah Shafer is a Dallas native who never thought much of alarm systems until her house was burglarized. Now a monitored security system is part of her personal sense of safety. These are her words.
A close call made her a believer
“I grew up with parents who locked every door and double checked the windows at night. But that didn’t stop us from getting robbed when I was 14. In addition to big-ticket items, they took all my Wet ‘n’ Wild make-up, a crimping iron, and a pair of my M.C. Hammer pants (hey, it was the 80s). But more than that, they stole my sense of security in my own home.
“So we installed a monitored alarm system. For several years, it was just a fixture on the wall that we didn’t think about too much. But that changed one summer night when we woke up to the beeping of the back door being opened. At 3 a.m.
“We had forgotten to close the garage door and at least two people had been rummaging around in there, moving the lawnmower out into the driveway and trying to use a screwdriver to start the car. Who knows what they were planning on doing once inside the house, but it couldn’t have been good. When they came through the back door and tripped the sensor, that alarm may have saved our lives. They heard it and ran away.
“Thankfully, I’ve never had another instance like that since that hot summer night many years ago, but it instilled in me a belief in the value of arming my system every time I leave the house and at night. Nowadays, I have more valuable things for them to steal than scrunchies: my personal sense of safety has no price tag.”
Posted in: Home Security, What Is Security?
It’s nicknamed the “silent killer.” It’s odorless, tasteless, invisible, present virtually everywhere, and it can kill you while you sleep. The symptoms of exposure often go undetected because they mimic those of other common ailments.
Every year, thousands of Americans are rushed to hospital emergency rooms for treatment and, worse, there’s new evidence that indicates that what were once considered safe levels of this common gas can irreversibly damage the brains of small children.
What is this deadly gas? It’s carbon monoxide, and as lethal as exposure to it can be, it can also be minimized by following a few simple tips.
Read More
Posted in: Home Security
As part of this blog, we want to include stories from employees, dealers, and customers about what security means to them. How do you define physical security? Control risk? Feel safe?
For this first post, we’ve asked Monitronics authorized dealer David Pulver of American Security Professionals in Colorado to share his thoughts. These are his words.
Peace of mind for my family and my business
“We are in this business because of our conviction of spreading peace of mind for all. As a Monitronics authorized dealer, that is exactly how I pitch my clients. I tell them about the feeling that you have once you have a security system in your house. You don’t have to worry about somebody breaking in, kids leaving the house…
“I had burglary attempts in my old house—two, actually. The system worked. The alarm went off, police were called, and both guys were caught. Monitored alarm systems work for my customers, too. At least every couple of months a customer of mine gets a burglary attempt on their home. They tell me they are so happy to have a Monitronics security system.
“I am forever grateful to Monitronics for allowing me to have the opportunity to give to my community that peace. You will pass that peace of mind down to all your friends and family.”
Posted in: What Is Security?
