Have you ever heard the expression, “a team is only as strong as its weakest link”? While not universally true, it certainly applies to home security. By banding together with your neighbors, you can greatly bolster your own property’s protection. Along with an ADT home alarm system, this can be one of the best ways to keep your family safe. Here are some tips for getting your neighborhood watch group off the ground.

Start Small: Talk to your neighbors to the immediate left and right. This is the first step to increasing the strength of your neighborhood’s defense system. Discuss mutual expectations and concerns, and delegate responsibilities.

Expand Across the Neighborhood: Now that you have the backing of more homeowners, take the campaign further by going door to door. Don’t be discouraged if you get rejected from a few homes on your way-it’s their loss. You can also print up flyers if you would prefer to move things forward from a distance.

Home Security Meetings: Once the organization has been developed, hold a monthly meeting to talk about potential threats. Encourage your neighbors to openly discuss home security issues.

As a unit, your neighborhood can protect itself against potential intruders. By banding together, you can supplement stronger locks, a home alarm system, and other individual home security measures.

Your family’s safety is priceless. If you thought that home security was beyond your budget and unreachable, you’re plain wrong. There are numerous ways to protect your loved ones without breaking the bank. Check out some ways to bolster your home security inexpensively below.

Change Up Your Locks: For less than 50 dollars, you can swap out old locks for new. Think how many neighbors, handymen, and dogwalkers you’ve given keys in the past couple of years. Even dependable people have moments of weakness; prevent a break-in by making those keys worthless.

Add a Home Alarm System: If you were under the impression that a home security system was out of reach, think again. ADT offers great deals on great home protection, with freebies including installation and equipment. For less than a one hundred dollar initial outlay of cash, you can set your house up with the safety net your family deserves.

Get Your Hands Dirty Gardening: Who would have thought that Mother Nature could make your family safer? By obscuring windows with shrubbery and adding rose bushes to low entrance points, you can keep potential burglars guessing. You don’t need to hire a professional landscaper; head to the garden supply store yourself, and spend a pleasant weekend installing some gorgeous new features.

Start a Neighborhood Watch Group: This one’s free: talk to the folks on your street, and see if they’re interested in starting a neighborhood watch group. If you’re the proud owner of an ADT home alarm system, let them know just how satisfied you are. A neighborhood filled with properly secured homes will send potential intruders scurrying on to the next block.

Improving home security should be a priority for any concerned property owner. With these easy tips and a home security system from ADT, you’re house or apartment will stay protected all the time.

Now that the school year’s final bell has rung, your kids have a lot more free time. You’ve probably heard the expression about the Devil and idle hands, and summer is chock full of opportunities for bored children to get themselves into trouble. The hot months of June, July, and August can be enjoyed safely both inside and outside of the home, as long as you take some simple precautions.

The Stranger Talk: It’s almost a cliché by now, but make sure your children know that they should never get into a car with a stranger. While a home alarm system can keep your kids safe while they’re hanging out at home, they’ll need to exercise more caution when in public.

Stay Hydrated: This one’s pretty simple, but often overlooked. Dehydration can lead to very serious consequences, including heat stroke and even death. Let your kids know that they should be drinking before they get thirsty, rather than after. On the hottest days of summer, skip outdoor activities and head to a movie theater or bowling alley.

Don’t Forget to Set the Alarm: When sweat is pouring down your face and you can feel your skin already starting to burn, you’ll find yourself forgetting to do things that are normally almost second nature. Whenever you leave your home, make sure to set your ADT home security system. This technology is easy enough for kids to use, so get them involved. You should also teach them how to operate the two-way communicator in case of an emergency. This device will put them in touch with a trained home security professional immediately.

Clear Expectations for Being Home Alone: Staying home alone is a big responsibility, no matter how old your child is. Make sure they understand everything that’s necessary to maintain home security, from dangers in the kitchen to how to deal with a fire.

Your kids’ safety is the number one priority this summer. With tools like a home security system and some basic education, you can be sure that they’ll be kept out of harm’s way.

While many people consider obtaining home alarm systems in case of an intrusion, few people consider how effective the system can also be in the event of a fire or other emergency.  While the primary reason for these systems is certainly security, the amount of emergency detection and protection that comes with them is certainly enough to make the purchase a wise investment for anyone who is considering such a purchase.

Fire can happen to anyone anywhere.  People living in dry areas are certainly more prone to wildfire damage, but a simple house fire can affect anyone.  Electrical problems, appliance malfunctions, candles, cigarettes, and many other things can accidentally and quickly set an entire home ablaze.  While traditional fire alarms will alert you to such an emergency if you are home, they do very little to protect your or your family if you are trapped in the home or if you are away from home when the fire occurs.  In these instances, you are left to the mercy of anyone who may see the fire and call emergency services.

In a large city or neighborhood, someone is likely to report a fire very quickly.  Even in this situation, however, every second counts.  With a home alarm system, a fire alarm will first trigger a call to your home to check on the situation.  In the event of no answer or a distressed response, emergency services are immediately dispatched to your home.  This simple feature can save valuable time and can make the difference between personnel arriving in time to save your home and an uncontrollable blaze.

Most home alarm systems also have a button that can be pressed to manually call for fire assistance.  This can be quite helpful in signaling a fire even before it is detected or if it begins outside the home.  With a manual fire button, you are given an even greater level of protection during emergency situations.  Pressing this button will immediately contact the security company who will attempt to contact you and will also notify proper authorities.

In addition to fire monitoring and detection, many quality home alarm systems can also monitor for freezes, floods, and carbon monoxide detection.  Because carbon monoxide has no smell, it can make everyone in a home especially ill before anyone realizes there is a problem.  Many states make carbon monoxide detectors mandatory for landlords who rent apartments and homes to people, but many homeowners still do not have detectors.  With an all inclusive home security system, you can expect carbon monoxide detection along with a great number of other services, all intended to keep you as safe as possible inside your home.

In short, an ADT monitored home alarm system can protect against much more than just home invasion.  In addition to intruders, a good system can also help save your home and family in the event of a fire, regardless of whether anyone can hear the audible alarm.  These systems are truly innovative and provide a high level of protection.  No matter where you live, a system that provides all of these protections is always a wise investment.

Despite the frightening figures on home invasions and property crimes, many homeowners are still reluctant to invest in a home security system.  They feel that the initial installation and monthly monitoring fee is too much to pay for the security of their home and its contents.

Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t install home alarm systems until after they’ve had a break-in.  If your home is invaded, you may be faced with thousands of dollars in damaged and stolen items.  Suddenly, the cost of installing and maintaining a home security system seems much more reasonable.

Of course, not every home will be broken into.  There are plenty of households that will never have to deal with the shock of seeing their home in disarray or the confusion of filing a police report and insurance claim.  However, those homes can benefit in other ways from having home security systems.

Just the presence of a home security system can ward off some burglars.  Faced with the choice between trying to disarm a home security system and breaking into the unsecured house next door, most burglars would prefer the easier target.  Homeowners who let it be known that their home is protected may never have to rely on their home security system precisely because it is there.

Home security provider ADT has built up an impressive home protection system.  They feature a vast network of interconnected monitoring centers all across the US to ensure that if your home is ever in danger, they can react quickly.

ADT home alarm systems can alert the authorities for you if anything happens to your home.  Their security systems offer a fire protection service which can call your local fire department if a fire is detected in your home.  Even if you are away from home when a fire breaks out, your property will be protected.  The ADT system can also call other rescue personnel as appropriate for the situation.  In many cases, the authorities can be there within minutes of the alarm sounding.

ADT’s monitoring centers are manned 24 hours a day, every day of the year.  The employees monitoring the network are highly trained home security professionals.  If anything happens to your home, they can notify both you and the police.

Besides protecting your home and its contents, a home security system can actually save you money every month.  Most homeowner’s insurance providers give discounts for homes that are equipped with security systems.  For homeowners who are concerned with the cost of maintaining a security system, this discount can help to offset the monthly monitoring fee.

The decision to install a home alarm system should be an easy one.  There’s no better way to protect your home, your belongings, and your family.  The cost of keeping a home security system is very reasonable, and it’s even more reasonable when you weight it against the potential costs of a break-in or a home fire.  You simply can’t put a price on the security of your home and family.

The Home Safety Council hosts a wonderful website designed to provide awareness to home safety issues and educate your family on to practice home safety steps in your home or neighborhood. The Home Safety Council was issued a $1 million grant for Fire Prevention and Safety from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

As a result of this grant the Home Safety Council has been providing a series of Webinars on various fire safety and prevention topics. April’s Webinar is titled Fire Safety for Older Adults and People with Disabilities. Previous Webinars have been on juvenile fire setting, school fire safety, scald burn prevention and other similar topics.

Viewing these Webinars is an excellent way for your community to learn about fire safety. The Home Safety Council will send all participants a sampling of the Webinar material for free after each Webinar. For more information on these programs visit the Home Safety Council online at http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/.

There is no substitute for being prepared in case of a fire emergency. Sometimes even the best preparations are not enough to protect you and your family. A rapid response from emergency personnel is essential to getting your family out quickly and safely.

The best way to ensure that your home and family are protected for any emergency is to have a home alarm system with professional monitoring services installed. Choosing a home security service can be a difficult task. The two top names in the home security industry are ADT home alarm systems and Brinks. Take care not to simply pick one without researching the facts. It could mean the difference between life and death for your family in the event of a fire.

ADT and Brinks both have highly trained staff in their Customer Monitoring Centers that are prepared to assist you during any emergency. Both companies have easy one touch buttons to contact the CMC’s if you are in need of emergency assistance. Both have smoke and heat sensors to detect a fire early. That is about where the similarities end when it comes to immediate emergency response.

Brinks and ADT both advertise 24/7 home monitoring but is it really 24 hours a day 7 days a week? In the case of ADT it certainly is. ADT Security Services has a total of five Customer Monitoring Centers in different locations. Unlike ADT, Brinks only has one CMC. This leaves the Brinks CMC vulnerable to power less and natural disasters. Certainly both companies have backup power plans but in the event of a large scale disaster backup generators may not be able to work they entire time. When a call gets routed to an ADT Monitoring Professional it can be immediately routed to another center if needed. This means that your family will truly be protected 24 hours a day 7 days a week with an ADT Home Security system.

Another important area of difference is the way that the monitoring center is contacted. Both companies utilitize a standard telephone line in the event that the CMC needs to be contacted. Only ADT home alarm systems offer Safewatch Cellguard. In the ever increasing wireless age this technology is a wonderful enhancement to your security system. Safewatch Cellguard contacts the monitoring center using a nearby cellular tower. This means that the center will be contacted even if the telephone line is not working in your home.

In the event of a fire you will be unable to answer your phone. Hopefully you will be on your way out of the home at the time the alarm goes off. If you are still in the home an added benefit of ADT security systems is the ability to talk with the ADT associate through the unit itself. ADT can hear you speaking from up to 100 feet away from the unit. This technology is currently not installed in the Brinks security system. The comfort of being able to hear that help is on the way is sometimes all you need as you make your way to safety.

Take the time to research your home alarm options for the safety of your family. Check the Home Safety Council for information on fire preparedness and how to educate your family and friends. You will be glad you did.