House alarm goes off, what to do?

A few nights ago I was awoken by my house alarm. I heard some glass break and within 2 seconds the siren was screaming. For whatever reason, I knew the wifes cat that had knocked over a vase.

I quickly got up and silenced the siren, called the company to tell them it was false. As I was on the phone with the company I toured the house, near the glass-break sensors. Surely enough, I noticed a downed vase that caused the problem.

As I laid back down after all of this, I realized I handled it pretty poorly. I should never assume anything. I should have at least armed myself before shutting off the alarm. Stupid Pepsico!

Then I thought.. Should I shut off the alarm? And that's my question here.

My thought is that in the future, the alarm goes off, why not leave it going while I arm myself and check out the potential danger? The bad thing is that I won't be able to hear said bad guy. But he won't be able to hear me, and since I have knowledge of our house, I believe that gives me upper hand. Any ideas? I can make points for it either way.

It's a natural reaction. I've had the alarm go off in the middle of the night before and my first reaction was to shut it off too, even though unlike you I had no idea (and still don't) as to what set it off. My sleepy brain didn't want to deal with all that noise I guess. At least I did grab my shotgun and clear the house, turn on all the lights inside and out, and dealt with the problem clearly...but like you I really felt that I should have left the alarm on in case something had happened and I was unable to phone for help.

Which brings me to an answer, yes, I believe you should leave it on while checking out the problem. If it means having a squad car roll up to your house that's okay. My local police have been very polite and understanding to our alarm calls (all of which have turned out to be from a non threatening cause) and are more than happy to come check out the situation anytime.
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It is just jerk reaction from having been awaken from your sleep...next time, get a dog instead.:tired:

You did what you did out of instinct, but yes, you've answered your own question, allow it to go and allow the police to come over just in case anyways. You pay for the alarm, let it do it's job.

You might want to move breakables away from the alarm portions or secure the cat somewhere for the night LOL.

I can see no reason to allow the alarm to continue sounding. It did the job for which it was intended, alarm you of an event.
oldogy

Most alarms have keypad at main entrance to the house and one in the master bedroom. Knowing what sensor tripped the alarm may change your senario one way or anouther. Turn the alarm off, central station should still call to see if all clear. I would advise to let the police come, unless you are absolutly sure. JMO

I vote let the alarm sound, get the family to safety, and let the cavalry come and clear the house.

And move stuff to where the cat can't destroy it. :smile:


I agree with you to not assume it is a false alarm.

Another option, if you must silence the alarm or if you silence it out of habit or reflex, is to then hit the "silent alarm" option if your system has it. Then the police will hopefully still respond.

Never 'assume' anything. What's the first thing a burglar would do ? Run, or silence the alarm.... do you plan to meet up with them at the control pad ?

If you can, I agree on adding a dog to your home defense mix. The dog will loudly bark at an intruder - sort of like a secondary alarm that has some intelligence. I wouldn't just tell my dog to be quiet, but go and see what he's barking at.

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Originally Posted by louie19

If you can, I agree on adding a dog to your home defense mix. The dog will loudly bark at an intruder - sort of like a secondary alarm that has some intelligence. I wouldn't just tell my dog to be quiet, but go and see what he's barking at.

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And the right dog will take care of that destructive cat!:nono:

Got kids? Other relatives in other rooms? That puts you in the category of having to "do something" and investigate. In my house it is my wife and myself in a locked bedroom with a door stopper backup that makes bedroom entry by a slime an effort and a demonstration of intent. I have already called the police (my alarm system is local and not tied to police) and even actuated the car alarm with my remote. Everything on the slime side of the bedroom door is just "stuff" that is insured and just not worth my going up against someone or a group that MAY be bigger and badder and more gun savvy than me. My life is not worth stuff, especially insured stuff. Now if they persist in going thru my locked bedroom door and the door stopper, I will truly believe that is a "reasonable" expectation of great bodily harm or even death and I will, most definitely, invoke the "castle doctrine" and the other state firearm rules in SC to defend myself. I guarantee you they will not like what is on my side of the bedroom door. Having to really do something comes down to others in other areas of the house. I choose to hunker down and wait for them to leave or for LEOs to arrive. I find it easier to deal with the insurance company over stuff than have my wife deal with the insurance company over my life insurance.

Most of us have not been invaded on a regular basis, so our first response is to shut off the alarm siren quickly, so as not to disturb the neighbors any further. Sadly, if it is a break in, we are helping the intruder.

My first reaction is to shut the alarm with a remote, but not to dismiss it as a false alarm while on the phone to the alarm company.

Allow the police to arrive and check outside to be sure.

When we are in the house, I have the alarm on stay mode. It does not arm the motion or glass sensors. We have animals roaming around at night. If the alarm goes off, I secure the family and wait for the police. House clearing without a tactical team with me is not my idea of fun in the dark.

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Originally Posted by kelcarry

Got kids? Other relatives in other rooms? That puts you in the category of having to "do something" and investigate. In my house it is my wife and myself in a locked bedroom with a door stopper backup that makes bedroom entry by a slime an effort and a demonstration of intent. I have already called the police (my alarm system is local and not tied to police) and even actuated the car alarm with my remote. Everything on the slime side of the bedroom door is just "stuff" that is insured and just not worth my going up against someone or a group that MAY be bigger and badder and more gun savvy than me. My life is not worth stuff, especially insured stuff. Now if they persist in going thru my locked bedroom door and the door stopper, I will truly believe that is a "reasonable" expectation of great bodily harm or even death and I will, most definitely, invoke the "castle doctrine" and the other state firearm rules in SC to defend myself. I guarantee you they will not like what is on my side of the bedroom door. Having to really do something comes down to others in other areas of the house. I choose to hunker down and wait for them to leave or for LEOs to arrive. I find it easier to deal with the insurance company over stuff than have my wife deal with the insurance company over my life insurance.

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:yup:

Very good post and I concur.

If you assume that the cat made the noise, well you know what they say about assuming things don't you?

Cats are little mammals that dogs love to eat. I have dogs for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons is the ability to alert me to unauthorized intruders in my home, as well as dealing with said intruder.

If you have to go searching for what made that "bump in the night", be careful. You just might find what you are looking for.

Biker

Years ago I was asleep in bed with my 70lb lab and an Australian Shepard (dog :mad:) mix. The dogs alerted and I heard some commotion in the living room. The Shepard got up crawled over me so that I was between her and the door :confused:. I grabbed my .44 special and went to investigate while the dogs hid in the bedroom.



A Bluegill from the aquarium jumped out and landed in the dogs' toy basket. I did not shoot the fish, but I did figure that if it wanted out that bad I'd help it. I threw it out in the front yard and went back to bed.