Best Security Products blog

Do you wonder how safe you are in your home? Our homes should be the place we feel safest. However, the truth is that the United States has the more burglaries of any country in the world. One burglary occurs about every 15 seconds.

Knowledge is power though. Being informed can empower you to take steps to protect yourself and your family from potential break-ins.

Here are a few interesting statistics from Safewise:

1. 30% of burglars gained entry to homes by way of an unlocked door, window or other opening without having to use force.

The takeaway? Make it a habit to lock your doors and windows if you are not home. If you are home, constrain the open windows or unlocked doors to only those rooms that are occupied. Consider using a home alarm system to protect all windows and doors in your home, so that you can be alerted if someone attempts to enter.

Take a walk around your home to identify any other openings which someone could use to enter you house. Places to check are basement windows, crawlspaces and attic windows.

2. Most burglars will avoid homes that have security systems. And if an alarm sounds during a break-in, they will flee immediately.

The takeaway here is to install a professional security system if you do not already have one. Burglars know that a security system means sirens will sound, cameras may be watching and that the police will soon arrive, due to the monitoring service being notified.

When you have a system installed, ask for yard signs and window stickers that alert visitors that a security system is present. Also install cameras (indoor and outdoor) that are in plain sight, so the burglars realize they are being watched. Each of these measures may scare the burglar away before he does damage to your property.

At Best Security Products, we are experts in Home Security Systems. Please call or email for a consultation: 1-800–988–2378 sales@bestsecurityproducts.com

Source: http://www.safewise.com/blog/8-surprising-home-burglary-statistics/

In a report released by the Nation Fire Protection Association Fire Analysis and Research Division, office fire statistics are analyzed and made public.

Here are a few highlights from the report. Read the entire analysis here.

The report gives information about structure fires in office properties which include business offices, banks, veterinary or research offices, engineering, mailing firms and post offices.

Peak times of day for fires were between noon and 2:00 PM. There were fewer fires on the weekends, since fewer people work on the weekends, but in spite of the lower number of weekend fires accounted for 31% of associated property loss.

The high rate of loss that occurred when the offices were less populated show how important it is to have automatic systems that can not only detect but also extinguish fires when no one is present.

• Greater than one in every four of the fires (29%) was a cooking equipment fire
• Intentionally set fires caused the biggest share of property damage
• Electrical and light equipment fires caused the second most office fires
• 22% of the fires started in the kitchen or cooking area
• 2% of the fires of the fires began in the attic or ceiling area, but these fires caused 13% of the property damage.

Wet pipe sprinklers were very effective in controlling fires and saving lives. When the fires were large enough to trigger the sprinkler system, they operated 90% of the time and were effective in 88% of the fires.

Compared to offices without automatic extinguishing equipment, deaths per 1,000 fires were 62% lower in those that had wet pipe sprinklers.

Is your office adequately protected from fire? If you are not sure, it is time to call a professional for help. Best Security Products specializes in business and commercial fire security systems.

In the following Howcast video, you’ll learn some tips for hiding things from burglars.

From the video:

“Step One: Understand that the burglar has two goals: to find your valuables and to get in and out of your house as fast as possible.

Step Two: Leave a small amount of cash in an obvious spot, so burglars think they’ve found all the cash in your house and won’t bother looking for more.

Step Three: Spread out your valuables and money. Hide some in messy areas that would take a burglar too long to go through, such as a child’s room, basement or garage. Don’t hide valuables in obvious places like drawers or purses.

Step Four: Make a diversion box with an ordinary item such as a cereal box. Store valuables in the box.”

Click the video to watch:

Household Hacker also has some great tips for hiding your things in plain sight such as:

1. Remove the battery cover and base from your LED candles. Place your valuables inside and then replace the cover. The candle should function normally, but your valuables will be hidden safely away.

2. Cut an opening in the side of a tennis ball and place your valuables inside. When you release, the cut will close up and be hardly noticeable. To retrieve your items, squeeze the sides of the ball to open the hole.

3. Remove the lip balm from a lip balm container and fold your money to insert. Keep in mind that it will take some creative folding to fit US dollars into the tube!

4. Place your valuables into a small, plastic container. Place the container into a planter pot, and then place dirt and a plant into the pot on top of the container. Put the plant in a convenient spot either outside or inside your home. One idea for this tip: place an extra set of house keys in the pot and place near your front door.

Watch the full video below: