What do you do if your alarm starts ringing? It’s loud and it can be stressful. Here’s the key to staying calm in a commotion, letting your alarm do it’s job and getting it back on track.
When Your Alarm Starts Ringing: Don’t Panic
If your alarm starts ringing it can trigger fight or flight mode – after all it’s been designed to send a burglar scarpering. What not to do in this situation is to get in a flap. Instead take a deep breath and work your way through these simple steps.
Don’t Assume It’s a False Alarm
Ask yourself why might the alarm be going off? Sometimes it’s clearly a false alarm, for example if you’re in the middle of eating your dinner, and your alarm isn’t even ‘armed’. In this instance it’s clearly not down to an intruder. Try to silence it and get in touch with your maintenance provider for help.
If your alarm is switched on, something has activated it. If it’s possible that an intruder is present, your priority should be safety. Ring 999 if a burglary is taking place right now. For reporting an incident after it’s happened, you should report it on the police’s non emergency number, 101. (Here’s the official guidance on when to use each number.) If there is an intruder in your house do not rush to switch off the alarm. Instead; let it ring. It’ll attract attention from your neighbours and and any passers by. It should also cause the burglar to flee. If your alarm is monitored, it’ll be calling for back up. Phew!
Don’t Ignore System Maintenance
If it turns out to be a false alarm, call your maintenance provider to have the system checked. Without regular maintenance an your alarm could start ringing even if unarmed. A power cut or a chewed cable could trigger an activation. We can’t stress it enough – regular maintenance prevents problems like this.
Don’t Overlook the Benefits of a Monitored System
When your alarm starts ringing, everyone in the vicinity knows about it. But what if you live in an isolated location? What if you’re away from home, or you live by yourself? What if you need a bit more reassurance that action will follow the ringing?
A monitored intruder alarm provides the solution to all of these “what ifs”. All types of intruder alarm monitoring provide alerts beyond the ringing bell. There are three main options; app monitored (also known as smart monitored) systems, or monitoring with either Keyholder or Police Response. These send an alert to your phone. This is ideal for letting you know an incident is in progress when you’re away from home. The alternative is a signal being sent to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC). The the ARC then alerts your nominated keyholders or, in the case of a police monitored system, they can pass the details of your intruder alarm activation directly to the police.
If your alarm is monitored, it provides an additional layer of reassurance. Monitored systems can automatically alert a security company, which can then contact emergency services on your behalf. This feature is particularly beneficial if you’re unable to respond directly to the situation.
Don’t Worry. We Can Help
Keybury Fire and Security are home security experts. We’ve been installing home intruder alarm systems since 1982. And to be honest we’ve lost count of how many ringing alarms we’ve repaired in the last four and a half decades. One of our key offerings is maintenance. Maintaining intruder alarms helps to prevent the ‘alarm-ringing-in-the-middle-of-the-night’ scenario. And, if you have our maintenance cover in place and your alarm does go off, you get priority response from our team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Give us a call for a full system check up and get Keybury maintenance cover even if we didn’t originally install your system. Contact our helpful team on 01535 661197 or sales@keybury.co.uk