Category Archives: Home Safety

June 17, 2012 · 1:25 am

What is Two Way Voice and Why Do I Need It?


Two Way Voice is Vital, it reduces false alarms and can lead to verified, faster police response times.

Traditional alarm systems work the following way:

  1. Alarm is triggered
  2. Alarm system seizes control of the phone line
  3. After at least 30 seconds (CP01 standard) the alarm system will dial out to the monitoring center and complete the “handshake”
  4. event ually the monitoring station will receive all the information and attempt to call back the premise on the premise’s land line.

Typically the burglar or home intruder do not answer the telephone call (go figure). The monitoring center next calls the police and informs them that an alarm is going off but they could not verify if it is an actual intruder because no one answered the phone call.

Two Way Voice is different, Especially Two Way Voice by Burns & McBride.

Two Way Voice allows the central station to communicate through a speaker phone built into the Go!Control alarm panel only after an alarm has been triggered. It allows our Central Station operators to instantly talk to you through the alarm panel and to hear what is going on inside the house if you are not home. We have heard footsteps, movement, rummaging, glass shattering, and even people screaming. When we hear any type of movement inside the house we then verify to the police that this alarm call is a “crime in progress” which they love. Police often respond very quickly with a higher priority to verified alarms opposed to unverified alarm calls because 98% of all alarm calls are false. In fact, many cities have enacted verified alarm policies where they refuse to respond to a unverified alarm signal.

Burns & McBride’s Two Way Voice is even better. We use Two Way Voice over the cellular network. Most companies that provide Two Way Voice provide it only over the telephone (POTS) line. This is great until your phone line is cut or tampered with not only disabling your Two Way voice but also disabling your whole alarm system.

Two way voice is a standard feature of the Burns & McBride Smart, Safe home system. Just one more way that our Smart, Safe Home helps you and your family.

Other security dealers offer two way voice but it is normally not a standard feature. Here is a video from one of those companies which does a good job of explaining the benefits of two way voice.

About Burns & McBride

Our job is to provide essential services to homeowners. one of those essential services is home security and automation. We provide affordable home automation to help protect families, allow them to use energy more wisely and simplify their lives.The Burns & McBride Smart, Safe Home system uses Z-wave technology to tie things like locks, thermostats and lights together so that you can control them whether you are home or away. Burns & McBride has been providing essential home services since 1949. To learn more about Burns & McBride’s Smart, Safe Home can help you – callus at 302-656-5110 or visit our website at www.burnsandmcbride.com

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June 17, 2012 · 1:08 am

New Castle County Alarm Registration


The New Castle County Police Department requires homeowners to register their alarm systems with them. Similar programs exist in the City of Wilmington and the City of Newark.

Why was the False Alarm Reduction Program developed?

Through the implementation of this ordinance the reduction of false alarms has allowed the police officers more time to handle calls for service and become proactive in the communities of New Castle County.  At the program’s inception there were an average of 13,000 false alarms per year and a response time of approximately 25 minutes, the New Castle County Police were losing over 300,000 minutes (or 5000 hours) of officer time every year to false alarms.  This is the equivalent of 2.5 officers spending and entire year working on false alarms.  It had been shown that with implementation of a false alarm ordinance, false alarms could be cut by up to 40%.  That means that the New Castle County Police would get back about 130,000 minutes (or 2166 hours) of actual police time.

Do I have to register my alarm?

Yes.  No alarm user shall operate or cause to be operated, an alarm system without a valid alarm registration.  Failure to do so may result in a penalty.

Ordinance Summary

No alarm user shall cause, allow, or permit the alarm system to give three (3) or more false alarms in a twelve (12) month period.
Each violation of this Section shall be penalized as follows:
For the third false alarm within a twelve (12) month period, by a civil penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
For the fourth false alarm within a twelve (12) month period, by a civil penalty of two hundred dollars ($200.00).
For the fifth and any subsequent false alarms within a twelve (12) month period, by a civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).
In addition, any person operating a non-registered alarm system will be subject to a civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each false alarm in addition to any other civil penalties. The alarm administrator may waive this additional civil penalty for a non-registered system if the alarm user submits an application for alarm registration within ten (10) days after notification of such violation.
If cancellation occurs prior to law enforcement authority arriving at the scene, this is not a false alarm for the purpose of civil penalties, and no civil penalties will be assessed.
View the full text of the ordinance at the County Municode site.

Residents and business owners can  register their alarm systems through Cry Wolf, the vendor selected by the New Castle County Police to administer the program. Registration is free and is available through a secure website at http://www.crywolf.us/newcastlede.

 In addition to online alarm registration and administration, the website offers information about the false alarm law, answers to frequently asked questions, false alarm reduction tips, payment of fines and more.  

Any questions or further information regarding the registration process and applicable fines should be directed to Cry Wolf at 866-839-2731

As a courtesy, Burns & McBride registers those customers whose systems they have installed. Once registered the homeowner will receive a registration confirmation showing their system number. They will also receive a password to the system via e-mail. They can access the system at any time using their e-mail as a login and their password.

About Burns & McBride

Our job is to provide essential services to homeowners. one of those essential services is home security and automation. We provide affordable home automation to help protect families, allow them to use energy more wisely and simplify their lives.The Burns & McBride Smart, Safe Home system uses Z-wave technology to tie things like locks, thermostats and lights together so that you can control them whether you are home or away. Burns & McBride has been providing essential home services since 1949. To learn more about Burns & McBride’s Smart, Safe Home can help you – callus at 302-656-5110 or visit our website at www.burnsandmcbride.com

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June 15, 2012 · 8:40 pm

Can I control my system from the second floor?


ABSOLUTELY!!

Maybe you hear a noise in the middle of the night and want to call the police. Or maybe you want to turn the heat up or down, without going downstairs.

We are pleased to announce the availability of our new Smart, Safe Home Secondary Panel, which enables increased accessibility to the smart home features managed through the Go!Control panel, the heart of our home automation system. based on the award winning GO!Control panel, we can locate this device anywhere in your home to give you easier access to the system.

  • Panels Supplement Main Go!Control Panel and Mobile App Offering to Increase Users’ Ability to Manage Their System
  • Up to Four Secondary Panels Can be Strategically Placed Throughout the Home, Including in Bedrooms, Home Offices and Other Rooms

Our customers will now have the option for increased access to their system’s functions through these secondary, in-home touch-screen control panels, which can be placed strategically throughout the home, giving users additional points of access. Features of the secondary panels include:

  • One touch arm/disarm alarm capabilities
  • The ability to see and hear system statuses
  • Lighting and appliance control
  • Thermostat control
  • Alert notifications
  • Date, time and weather display

Our Go!Control system gives customers the ability to easily manage every aspect related to their home’s automation system. We also have a mobile app that allows our customers to stay connected to their system no matter where they are. However, we heard from several users who thought that when they were at home, having all those features centralized in one control panel wasn’t always convenient.

Users can have up to four of the  Secondary Panels installed, in a customized configuration that best addresses the needs of each unique situation.

Our job is to provide essential services to homeowners. one of those essential services is home security and automation. We provide affordable home automation to help protect families, allow them to use energy more wisely and simplify their lives.

About Burns & McBride

The Burns & McBride Smart, Safe Home system uses Z-wave technology to tie things like locks, thermostats and lights together so that you can control them whether you are home or away. Burns & McBride has been providing essential home services since 1949. To learn more about Burns & McBride’s Smart, Safe Home can help you – callus at 302-656-5110 or visit our website at www.burnsandmcbride.com

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May 19, 2012 · 8:55 pm

2GIG Appears on Designing Spaces


As you know from this blog, we at Burns & McBride use 2GIG equipment to provide you state of the art, affordable home automation.

Obviously we aren’t the only company in the country using 2GIG.  One of our associates in the industry is Vivint from Utah. Recently there was a story on an episode of Designing Spaces where they explained the benefits of home automation and of 2GIG equipment

We liked it so much, that we thought we should share it with you since it does a great job of showing you how 2GIG can help you. Click on the logo to see the video.

Designing Spaces

As you can imagine, 2GG, like all manufacturers, is happy to put the name of different contractors on their equipment. 2GIG makes the equipment which is featured in this story.

We realize that its a little unusual to point you to an article featuring a competitor. This story does a good job of explaining just what the 2GIG system can do for you. At the end of the day, we want you to compare us with Vivint and with other contractors. We think the Burns & McBride Smart, Safe Home system offers some unique benefits from all other competitors, including Vivint. We’ll be happy to show them to you. At the end of the day – y0u’ll be the judge.

 

About Burns & McBride

Burns & McBride Home Comfort was founded in 1949 and is committed to providing dependable home comfort and safety services to homeowners throughout the Delaware alley. In addition to home security sales through its unique Smart, Safe Home system, it also provides homeowners with HVAC services, heating oil delivery and waste and recycling services. For more information on Burns & McBride please call us at 302-656-5110 or visit our website at www.burnsandmcbride.com

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