What are you afraid of?
Ghosts?
Heights?
Dinner with your in-laws?
Fair enough. Those fears are normal.
If you're a father who travels for work like me, this probably scares you even more: an emergency at home.
It almost happened to me once.
I was out of town when my wife called. Someone was banging on our door an hour before midnight.
Luckily, nothing bad happened. But it could have.
In fact, it could be far worse for others in that situation if their home lacks security.
Whether you live in a small town or rent an apartment in New York, be well-informed on keeping your family and home safe.
How? Read on.
Safety Tip #1 – Be Mindful Of The Dangers
Here's a story worth sharing. I was away for a conference in L.A. when my wife Lena called at around 9 in the evening (11 pm in Wisconsin). She told me that a strange man was knocking at the door.
We talked about what to do. She then went downstairs and approached the door to ask the man who he was. He claimed to be a cop, but she asked him to leave an ID instead of letting him in. It turned out he really was a police officer. He was responding to a 911 call and had come to the wrong address.
Thankfully, nothing worse happened, but this incident served as a wake-up call for me to rethink the level of safety and security in our home, as well as how prepared my family is for potential threats or disasters. I had to make sure my family knew what to do in case of a fire, a brownout, or another emergency. I also knew that I had to develop a routine for bedtime to keep the house safe while we slept.
These are some security questions I've taken into account (that you should too):
Tools at home:
- Do you have a first aid kit? Have you recently checked if it's fully-stocked?
- Do you have portable emergency lights? Are they easily accessible in different areas in case of a brownout?
- Do you regularly test whether your smoke detectors are functional? For battery-powered types, do you regularly check if they need replacing?
- How many fire extinguishers do you have? Is there one near or inside the kitchen, one in your garage, and another in your bedroom? Are the gauges well-charged?
Front and back doors:
- Are the doors of solid wood or metal construction?
- Are the frames sturdy and tight enough to prevent spreading or forcing?
- Are the hinges protected from removal from the outside?
- Do the doors have deadbolts?
Windows:
- Do all the windows have adequate locks in perfect condition? Do all sliding panels close snugly?
- Can all ground-level windows be covered with blinds or curtains at night or when you're away, so as to stop people from looking in?
Entrances to the house:
- Are the exteriors of the front and rear entrances well-lit, having least a 40-watt bulb? Are there motion-detector lights installed?
- Can these entrances be observed easily from the street or neighboring homes?
- How secure is the garage door? Do you always ensure it's closed properly when not in use? Do you keep the garage door opener unplugged when you're out of town?
Safety Tip #2 – Have The Right Tools In Place
Who remembers the movie Titanic? I'm sure everyone does. There are a number of life lessons you can learn from it, such as to have enough lifeboats aboard your ship in case it hits an iceberg. You never know when tragedy can strike.
When it comes to my home, I don't take my lifeboats for granted. I never forget to test the smoke detector, check the locks on the doors, and see that our first aid kits are in their proper places. I also inspect the security cameras installed around the house.
You know what's great about technology these days? I can now view recordings – including live streams – of the security cameras on my phone through the FLIR Secure app. This allows me to get instant alerts, notifications, and access to video footage via the Internet. And as for the cameras themselves, there's no better company for the job than Lorex.
Lorex security cameras are a godsend. Not only are they compatible with FLIR Secure, but they're also super dependable, even when it's cold or dark outside. They can handle temperatures as low as -30 degrees and as high as 60 degrees Celsius. Lorex also build cameras with infrared night vision and motion-activated recording. This is why their stuff works so well for both outdoor and indoor security applications.
Lorex currently sell 4K IP camera systems designed with advanced 8-megapixel image sensors. These cameras have a video quality that's “quadruple the definition of 1080p.” They allow you to distance objects in recordings without compromising image clarity. That means you'll be able to spot faraway details, like a license plate number or facial features, even at night.
These cameras are user-friendly, easy to install, and hard to vandalize. I really can't say enough positive things about Lorex. I spend more on their cameras because I trust them the best. They make life at home feel so much safer.
Safety Tip #3 – Practice Dealing With Emergency Situations
Never underestimate the value of practice. As with so many other things in life, practicing for emergencies means preparing for them beforehand so you know what you're doing when they actually happen.
What would you do if your son cuts himself in the kitchen, or there's a brownout?
Even though they're hypothetical situations, you want to feel like you'd be able to handle them without panicking. It's just like studying for your mid-terms in Algebra class. You need a worksheet of problems that you'll want to solve in a fixed amount of time.
Talk with your whole family about this. Hold meetings every now and then in order to refresh their memories about your standard operating procedures (SOPs) for situation X, Y or Z. Most importantly, teach them basic first aid, including what to do if someone has burned themselves or has a deep wound. I've done this for my wife and kids thanks to my background in the Boy Scouts and Marine Corps. They've been able to practice it themselves as well, so I'm confident they can easily execute these SOPs.
As Confucius said, success depends on your preparation. That's why you need to take all this information seriously. Unlike a car or clothes at the mall, you can't question the value of keeping your family and house safe every day. You can't put a price on effective home security (apart from the tools you buy). I hope this article helps you with that.
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