Smoke alarms save lives, plain and simple. If there is a fire in your home, smoke spreads fast. You need smoke alarms to give you as much time to get out as possible. Having a working smoke alarm reduces the chances of dying in a reported fire by 50 percent. Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
If you own a smoke detector, you obviously realize just how important they can be in helping prevent a loss of life and/or property. It is important to understand the differences between your average run of the mill smoke detector that you buy at a Big Box store and a smoke detector that is installed and monitored by your home security company. The battery-operated smoke detectors that you buy in the store are stand alone, meaning that they are not connected to other smoke alarms and/or warning devices.
Why not use battery-operated smoke detectors?
If a fire were to break out while no one is at home, it would take a long time before anyone outside would see that there is a fire, as it takes a tremendous amount of heat to break a window, thereby allowing smoke to escape and making the fire visible from the outside. Unfortunately, by that time, your home and everything you’ve worked so hard for could be gone.
Why use monitored smoke alarms?
With monitored smoke detection, however, the fire can be identified in its early stages, often before you would know there is even a problem. The fire department may have a chance to respond to the call before your property and valuables are a total loss, and most importantly, before anyone who may be in the house gets hurt.
It can be hard for alarm installers to convince homeowners they need a monitored smoke alarm instead of the inexpensive DIY detectors from the Big Box stores. However, a person who is out of the house won’t hear those detectors. Monitored smoke detectors will send a signal to your monitoring company to notify the fire department in case of a fire. To make sure it’s working properly, it’s important to have your system checked out annually.
A functional smoke alarm system is one of the most effective ways to protect your loved ones from the hazards of a fire in your home. Installing a monitored smoke detector to compliment your existing home alarm system is an even better solution for ensuring total safety and peace of mind. Contact us to find out why so many satisfied customers believe that Unlimited Security and peace of mind go hand in hand.