Personal Security Starts At Home-Equip Your Safe Room Before A Home Invasion!

Posted on October 9, 2008 
Filed Under Home Security Protection, Personal Security, Safe Room, Safety Plan of Action

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Part II - Does Your Home Security Defense Plan Include A Safe Room?  Courtesy of Home Security 911

Make sure the Safe Room is equipped with the following items: 

•  A telephone for calling the police.  If possible, use a cell phone in your safe room.  Criminals can totally disable    standard wired phones and cordless phones simply by cutting the phone line to your home or taking on extension off the hook.  When you call 911, your billing address is displayed on the 911 screen, so remember to give your home address just in case it’s different from your billing address.
•  Remember that a cordless phone requires the base unit to be plugged into the standard phone line in your home.  If the phone line is cut or unplugged, your cordless phone is dead.  However, a cell phone transmits and receives signals through the air and doesn’t require standard phone lines.  You will just need to make sure it is always charged and ready for use.
•  A flashlight.  You may need a flashlight if the intruder turns off the power to your house.  Also, if it’s late at night you may want to leave the lights off anyway.  Ensure you have extra batteries or a fully charged rechargeable flashlight.
•  If there is a window in your safe room, keep an extra set of house and car keys* in that room.  When the police arrive, you can throw your house keys to the police from the window of your safe room.  (You may even want to have a glow stick to attach to your keychain in case you have to toss the keys out a night).  These keys will allow the police to quickly enter your home while you remain secure in your safe room.  Additionally, if you are able to escape, you will have your car keys available.
•  Personal Protection device(s) of your choice (permitted by law).  Pepper or Mace Spray, C2 Taser, Advanced Taser, and Stun Guns are all non-lethal protection devices that can provide some take down power-possibly enough for you to escape to safety.  If an intruder has made it this far into your home and is coming after you, he is intent on doing you grave harm.  You may have to use everything in your arsenal to save your life.  Remember at this point your main concern is saving your life and the life of any family member with you.   You can deal with the other stuff later.
•  A small folding ladder to escape out of a window if your safe room is on the second or third level, first aid kit, food, and water.

* If your car keys have an alarm button, you could activate the car alarm from your safe room. Noise is a deterrent and an audible alarm may alert the intruder/s to the fact that the situation is known to others. 

After you have decided upon the location of your safe room and properly equipped it, finish developing your home security defense plan.   Discuss the actions you and other members of the family will take in the event of an intrusion or break-in. Make sure they understand what they are supposed to do and where they should go.   For example, one family member might be responsible for calling police while another person notifies the other family members to retreat to the safe room.  Have non-threatening practice sessions with family members and review it often.  Remind everyone that you are to refuse to come out of the safe room by the intruder and only when the police arrive.  Evaluate your plan from time to time and make any changes that are deemed appropriate.

One last suggestion to consider would be to install a good quality home security system that monitors your home 24/7 for any type of break-in or intrusion.   You’ll have a loud alarm going off inside your home as well as alerting the local police authorities.  You could have several remote panic buttons in various locations in your home to activate the alarm and notify authorities immediately if a threatening situation arises.  Keeping one in your bedroom near a nightstand means it is right there if you need it.

Having had a home security system for 22 years, I would never live in another home without one.  A 24 hour monitored security system can give you and your family a tremendous amount of peace of mind and fits perfectly into any Home Security Defense Plan.

 

 

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Comments

10 Responses to “Personal Security Starts At Home-Equip Your Safe Room Before A Home Invasion!”

  1. jeremy york on October 10th, 2008 3:49 pm

    Some good advice here fro a panic room and I would also recommend keeping some emergency rations in the area. Anyone interested in home security can also check out http://www.homesecurityadvice.com

  2. admin on October 10th, 2008 5:08 pm

    Hi Jeremy: The reason I didn’t add that was unlike “panic room” - my feeling is either by an alarm system calling for the police or the homeowner using a regular phone or cell phone to call the police - they really wouldn’t be in the safe room that long. Maybe 10 minutes or so. But that is a good suggestion. Thanks.
    www.homesecurity911.com

  3. Pamela on October 13th, 2008 9:37 am

    Thanks for the recommendations. I would encourage talking to local police about which systems they find most effective and reliable. You want to make certain you avoid issues with false activations and alarms.

  4. Cheryl on October 13th, 2008 10:00 am

    Pamela: In my alarm days I found the majority of false alarms were activated by the homeowner or someone not fully trained. Training is key to using it properly. Whenever the alarms were actual system malfunctions, taking care of getting it fixed was always important.

    I agree talking to the authorities is a good idea as well as getting a recommendation of the top 2-3 alarm companies to interview.

    Cheryl

  5. TERRI STOCK on December 5th, 2008 12:23 pm

    MY SAFEROOM IS MY WALK-IN CLOSET IN MY MASTER BEDRROM. I ALWAYS HAVE A FLASHLIGHT, A CELL PHONE, AND A LOADED HANDGUN AT THE READY IN CASE I HAVE TO HIDE. I HAVE INSTALLED A LOCK ON THE DOOR THAT I CAN LOCK FROM THE INSIDE AND THAT WILL GIVE ME TIME TO CALL POLICE AND TIME TO HAVE MY WEAPON READY IN CASE THE INTRUDER GETS IN TO WHERE I AM. THATS MY SAFE ROOM. THANKS.

  6. admin on December 5th, 2008 12:34 pm

    Good Job Terri: That’s being proactive. You know what to do if some idiot decides to mess with you. Too bad most people aren’t like that.

    Thanks for commenting. Appreciate hearing from readers who already take control of making sure their safety and that of their family is a priority.

    Have a safe holiday season!!

    Cheryl

  7. TERRI STOCK on December 5th, 2008 12:55 pm

    THANKS CHERYL, YOU HAVE A SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON TOO. AS FOR ME, I AM A WOMAN THAT LIVES ALONE AND I LOVE THE SELF DEFENSE VIDEOS. I OWN 3 FIREARMS AND KNOW HOW TO USE EVERY ONE OF THEM. I KEEP IN PRACTICE BY GOING TO THE SHOOTING RANGE AND AM IN THE PROCESS OF OBTAINING MY CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMIT IN FLORIDA, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW CHERYL, THE CRIME RATE HERE IS SKYROCKETING. AND AS YOU ALSO KNOW, IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE WITH THIS DOWNHILL SLIDING ECONOMY. I THINK THAT EVERY DAY NORMAL CITIZENS ARE GOING TO START GETTING DESPERATE AND WILL GO TO EXTREME MEASURES. THEREFOR, I WILL PROTECT MYSELF. AND ALL OF MY WEAPONS HAVE LASER HANDGRIPS ON THEM SO THAT I DON’T MISS MY INTENDED TARGET AND INJURE AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER IF SOMEONE TRIES TO CARJACK ME WHILE I AM OUTSIDE THE HOME. THE NEXT THING ON MY AGENDA IS A SELF DEFENSE COURSE IN CASE SOMEONE GRABS ME FROM BEHIND. I’LL BEAT THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF THEM. THEY REALLY DON’T KNOW WHO THEY ARE DEALING WITH IF THEY TRY TO ATTACK ME CHERYL. AND JUST THINK, I USED TO BE A SHY TIMID INDIVIDUAL. HAVE A GREAT DAY AND STAY SAFE.

  8. Cheryl on December 5th, 2008 1:07 pm

    I know what you mean. Not only do I blog about self-defense and staying safe, but I have a home security blog - www.homesecurity911.com - where I blog about staying safe at home and ways to avoid home burglaries, home invasions, having a security and anything that has to do with the home. That’s supposed to be our safe haven - yet these punk predators are becoming more and more emboldened.

    When you’ve proactively setup prevention measures both at home and for your personal safety, you are less likely to be a victim of crime. Sounds like you are way ahead of the game!!!

    We just got a 40 caliber S&W and will be getting me a Walther P22. I always carry a Taser C2 plus pepper spray, but we want a more well-rounded level of protection.

    Take care

    Cheryl

  9. TERRI STOCK on December 5th, 2008 2:22 pm

    HEY CHERYL, WHEN I GET MY CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMIT, I WILL BE CARRYING MY SMITH&WESSON 38 REVOLVER, IN MY CLOSET IS A BRYCO 380 SEMI-AUTO, AND IN A BOX IN MY HEADBOARD IS A GLOCK 19. THEY ARE ALL VERY RELIABLE TO ME. AND AS I SAID, THEY ALL HAVE CRIMSON TRACE LASER HANGRIPS. IF I HAVE TO SHOOT SOMEONE( I HOPE I DON’T ), BUT IF THE NEED ARISES, I WILL. I WANT TO HIT MY INTENDED TARGET. THE INTRUDER MAY WALK INTO MY HOME, BUT WILL NOT WALK OUT. ONE THING ALOT OF INSTRUCTORS THAT TEACH US ABOUT CARRYING A WEAPON IS THEY DON’T USE THE SIMPLE PHRASE THAT SHOULD BE IN THE BACK OF ANYONES MIND IS ” OFF TARGET, OFF TRIGGER AND ON TARGET, ON TRIGGER “. IF SOMEONE INVADES YOUR HOME, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND IF YOU HAVE A WEAPON TO DEFEND YOURSELF IN OR OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOME. IT WILL DEFINATELY BE A VERY HIGH STRESS SITUATION IF AN INTRUDER BREAKS INTO YOUR HOME. ONE THING I ALSO DO IS, I DON’T HAVE ANY LIGHTS ON DURING THE NIGHT IN MY HOUSE BECAUSE I KNOW WHERE EVERYTHING IS LOCATED. SURPRISE, THE INTRUDER DOESN’T AND IF THEY TRIP OVER SOMETHING YOU WILL HEAR THE NOISE AND IT WILL WAKE YOU UP. SO, I’M READY FOR THEM INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF MY HOME. ANOTHER TIP IS IF YOU CALL 911, YOU SHOULD KEEP THE LINE OPEN SO IN CASE YOU HAVE TO SHOOT THE INTRUDER IT WILL BE RECORDED DURING THE 911 CALL. IF YOU END UP IN COURT YOU WILL HAVE THIS ON YOUR SIDE. ALOT OF INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE SERVING TIME BECAUSE THEY HAD TO DEFEND THEIRSELVES. DOWN IN FLORIDA WE HAVE THE CASTLE DOCTRINE THAT WAS PASSED SO IF SOMEONE COMES IN, WE CAN TAKE THEM OUT. THANKS FOR READING THIS. I HOPE PEOPLE LEARN SOMETHING FROM IT.

  10. Cheryl on December 5th, 2008 2:53 pm

    I have a training program on Home Invasion Prevention and I stress that everyone should have a home safety plan of action. Now is an excellent time for those who haven’t given much thought to home protection/safety to get with it. 2009 is a new year and time to get a plan together.

    I worked for ADT Security for 20 years and have always had a security system. There’s nothing better than having a security system, S&W, and a fearless Dacshhund to protect your home. That’s peace of mind. haha.

    If you ever want to put together a short blog post about how you stay safe, let me know and I’ll put it on my blog. We can leave names and stuff off. Just a thought-may be helpful for my readersto know how other women are keeping themselves safe at home or wherever they are.

    Thanks.

    Cheryl

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