Interesting Night & Alarm System Question

[edmart001]

Well this was an interesting evening. Our home alarm went off shortly after 3 AM. I got out of bed. Grabbed my pants, glasses, pistol and pocket holster and tried to detect any activity other than the siren blaring from just outside of the bedroom door. I then went to see that my wife and adult son were still in bed (which they were, neither said they even heard the alarm). By this time the monitoring company was calling on the phone. I decided I wanted professional help so I didn't answer the phone. If no answer to the call or if given the incorrect code, the alarm monitor is supposed to roll the sheriff. After observing no movement from the top of the stairs I went downstairs, turning on every light in the house, and I then silenced the alarm system and grabbed a flashlight.

By this time my wife was up asking what was going on from upstairs. I told her to get me a phone, check the windows upstairs and to stay upstairs. I told her if I had to shoot somebody downstairs, I didn't want to have to worry about where she was. I checked all doors and windows downstairs from inside and everything appeared normal. As my wife brought me a phone she reported everything looked normal upstairs as well and then she went back up the stairs. I then used the phone my wife brought me to dial 911. I reported that I just had an alarm at my house, the alarm monitoring company should have already called, but I wanted to confirm that I wanted the sheriff to come check my house. The dispatcher took my name and address, asked what subdivision that address was in and said she'd send the sheriff. She then hung up, which I thought was weird - I expected to be kept on the line. I called 911 because if the alarm monitor did indeed call the sheriff, I wanted the deputy to know that someone was home, up and moving around in the house.

I stayed inside, walking around, looking for activity and rechecking doors and windows. I noticed a unknown to me white Dodge minivan with large scrapes on the driver side leaving the cul-de-sac, but other than that, no activity of any kind. A Fort Bend County Sheriffs Department car rolled up within about 5 minutes. I put my pistol in my pocket holster upon seeing the cruiser. When Deputy Breaux parked I opened the front door, checked behind the shrubs in front of the house with the flashlight and met him about 15 feet from the door. I introduced myself, told him I had an alarm and asked him to check the house. I also said by the way, I have a CHL and I am armed. He said OK and never mentioned the issue again. He then said that he would check the inside of my house first then the outside. I told him my wife and son where in the house and both were upstairs. As he walked into the house, he turned his flashlight on and drew his weapon. I told him I would sit on the living room couch while he worked unless he wanted me to do anything different. He said that was fine. He checked every room and every closet downstairs and then went upstairs and did the same. About that time my son came down and I asked him to sit with me on the couch. The deputy then went to the back door and asked if there were any dogs. I told him the only possible danger he might encounter from our dog was that it might lick him to death but that I would bring the animal inside. My son held the dog. Deputy Breaux checked around the house then asked me to open the garage. After checking the garage he came back into the house.

We agreed that there didn't seem to be anything unusual. I apologized for bothering him and asked if I need to make a report or do anything else. He said there was absolutely no problem and no paperwork was required. He agreed that getting awakened by an alarm system at 3 AM must not have been fun but that responding and checking things out was his job and I should call anytime. He said he had just been assigned to this area and would be around every night. I completely spaced on telling him about the minivan and really didn't think about it until after he left. Other than remembering to tell the deputy about the minivan, what else should I have done differently in this situation?

And now for the alarm system question. The alarm is showing a light for Zone 5, which I believe has 6 windows, each with a magnetic contact switch in the bottom. The alarm system will not clear this Zone. I have opened and closed each of these windows, then gone back and cleaned the bottom of the window to make sure accumulation of gunk wasn't causing the poor contact. The alarm still will not clear. If I bypass that particular Zone, the alarm will show ready and will arm, but without Zone 5 bypassed, it will not show ready. Has anyone had this sort of problem before? Do these contact switches fail and if so must they do so at 3 AM? Also, if it is just a faulty switch, is it something I can change out myself or do I need a technician? What is involved in determining which contact of the six is bad and replacing it?

Thanks in advance for any constructive or otherwise helpful input.

[hheremtp]

Ed, It sounds like you have a faulty switch or broken wire. you should contact your alarm company hand have them come out to inspect the system. They will be able to determine what is wrong with it.

[jlangton]

It's possible that you have a bad magnetic contact in the window frame(yep-they always seem to go bad at 2-3am,still haven't figured that out),or it could be a magnet misaligned. If you've got some fridge magnets,you can test the windows by opening all of them and placing the magnet directly on top of the contact in the window frame. If the zone clears,then you've got a magnet issue. If not,then it's a wiring or defective contact issue. To isolate a magnet issue,remove one fridge magnet and close that single window checking to see if the zone stays clear. If it does,then repeat until you find the troublesome window. When the zone does not clear-you've found the problem.
JL

[Keith B]

It's possible that you have a bad magnetic contact in the window frame(yep-they always seem to go bad at 2-3am,still haven't figured that out),or it could be a magnet misaligned. If you've got some fridge magnets,you can test the windows by opening all of them and placing the magnet directly on top of the contact in the window frame. If the zone clears,then you've got a magnet issue. If not,then it's a wiring or defective contact issue. To isolate a magnet issue,remove one fridge magnet and close that single window checking to see if the zone stays clear. If it does,then repeat until you find the troublesome window. When the zone does not clear-you've found the problem.
JL

Another way is to use a small piece of wire to short across each magnet one at a time. If the zone clears, that is the bad magnet/contact. You can leave it shorted temporarily until you get a replacement contact or just leave it bypassed and hope that is not the window someone decided to try and open. Personally, I think window contacts are not needed these days. Usually the burglar will break the glass in a door or window and come through without opening the window or door to make sure they don't trigger. Glass-break or PIR motion sensors are a better solution IMO.

[garcia946]

Call your alarm company , have the come out and check your system.
If someone tried to get in your home , them the contact would have to be moved , since you checked all your windows , only leaves to a bad contact. But over all think you did everything right , with all that was going on , I also might have forgot to tell LEO about van , but you never know.
Is weird that alarm company didnt call , mine usually calls right away if it goes off , If I was you Id call them with that concern too.

[jlangton]

Another way is to use a small piece of wire to short across each magnet one at a time. If the zone clears, that is the bad magnet/contact. You can leave it shorted temporarily until you get a replacement contact or just leave it bypassed and hope that is not the window someone decided to try and open. Personally, I think window contacts are not needed these days. Usually the burglar will break the glass in a door or window and come through without opening the window or door to make sure they don't trigger. Glass-break or PIR motion sensors are a better solution IMO.

That'll work as long as it's not a recessed contact switch. And I agree-with modern windows-you're not gonna open them without breaking the glass. There are certain circumstances where the parents desire the contact switch for keeping the teens in the house at night
JL

[kidder014]

Are all of your window contacts wired, or do you have a hybrid system with wireless contacts?

If you have any wireless contacts on that zone, the batteries may have died on one of the transmitters.

Otherwise, it is likely a faulty contact or wiring.

[Excaliber]

Another not uncommon cause is mouse damage to the wiring. For some reason, the critters like to chew on the insulation inside the walls. Finding this kind of break takes a bit more effort than the switch bypass methods described by others and is best left to your alarm company.

From a tactical standpoint, there are a couple of issues. Number one is that the alarm wasn't heard by everyone in the house. You want to fix that by relocating, increasing power, or adding sounding devices. You didn't mention of the alarm is audible outside the home, but if it isn't, you want to add a 120 db or better siren outside. Burglars know interior sirens can't be heard outside and don't care about them. If an exterior siren goes off at the point of entry, in many cases they'll leave.

A big tactical issue is that you believed you may have an intruder and searched the house, and at first you didn't know for sure where everyone who belonged there was. A procedure where all family members secure themselves together in one room is much safer for all.

If the family is accounted for and in a protected space, there's no reason to take the very high risk of a solo search when a deputy is on the way. I would suggest staying with the family members so you can protect them and let the deputy do the search when he gets there. A solo search when an intruder is present may not meet the legal definition of suicide, but from a practical standpoint it comes pretty close. If you have any doubts, borrow a couple of airsoft guns and have a tactically aware buddy hide in your home while you search, and take note of who gets who first. Make sure you wear appropriate protective gear. My money is on your buddy.

[Mike from Texas]

Another not uncommon cause is mouse damage to the wiring. For some reason, the critters like to chew on the insulation inside the walls. Finding this kind of break takes a bit more effort than the switch bypass methods described by others and is best left to your alarm company.

From a tactical standpoint, there are a couple of issues. Number one is that the alarm wasn't heard by everyone in the house. You want to fix that by relocating, increasing power, or adding sounding devices. You didn't mention of the alarm is audible outside the home, but if it isn't, you want to add a 120 db or better siren outside. Burglars know interior sirens can't be heard outside and don't care about them. If an exterior siren goes off at the point of entry, in many cases they'll leave.

A big tactical issue is that you believed you may have an intruder and searched the house, and at first you didn't know for sure where everyone who belonged there was. A procedure where all family members secure themselves together in one room is much safer for all.

If the family is accounted for and in a protected space, there's no reason to take the very high risk of a solo search when a deputy is on the way. I would suggest staying with the family members so you can protect them and let the deputy do the search when he gets there. A solo search when an intruder is present may not meet the legal definition of suicide, but from a practical standpoint it comes pretty close. If you have any doubts, borrow a couple of airsoft guns and have a tactically aware buddy hide in your home while you search, and take note of who gets who first. Make sure you wear appropriate protective gear. My money is on your buddy.

I had a very similar situation happen at my house of course in the middle of the night. I have a keypad in my room and saw that the zone in alarm was the breakfast nook window. All of my keypads are alpha numeric so I don't have to look at a chart. Anyway, Excaliber is right on. I gathered everyone in my room where all of the weapons are and we stayed there until the monitoring company called. IF anyone had made the mistake and tried to get in that room, they would have had a very bad evening. We went ahead and told them to dispatch because we weren't sure if the house had been breached. The only unnerving part was going to the front door when the officer arrived. We silenced that alarm almost immediately so we could communicate effectively.

Turned out I had the same problem you had. It was a faulty switch and had to be replaced.

[fickman]

We had a series of false alarms due to ants chewing through a wire on a window near the breakfast nook. They didn't sever it, so it would only quit intermittently. We spent an entire afternoon troubleshooting that one. . .

[Excaliber]

I had a very similar situation happen at my house of course in the middle of the night. I have a keypad in my room and saw that the zone in alarm was the breakfast nook window. All of my keypads are alpha numeric so I don't have to look at a chart. Anyway, Excaliber is right on. I gathered everyone in my room where all of the weapons are and we stayed there until the monitoring company called. IF anyone had made the mistake and tried to get in that room, they would have had a very bad evening. We went ahead and told them to dispatch because we weren't sure if the house had been breached. The only unnerving part was going to the front door when the officer arrived. We silenced that alarm almost immediately so we could communicate effectively.

Turned out I had the same problem you had. It was a faulty switch and had to be replaced.

Here are a couple of ways to get around that uncomfortable situation:

1. Install a wireless keypad that allows your garage door opener to be triggered from outside. Hide a key to the door between the garage and the house inside the garage. When police respond, ask the dispatcher to communicate the keypad code and the location of the hidden key to the responding officer by either cellphone or computer (to keep it from being picked up by scanners).

2. Replace the front or rear door lockset with one equipped with a digital keypad like this one. Schlage and Kwikset both make an assortment of models to fit most situations. Communicate the code the same way to the dispatcher.

This also has two other advantages: You'll never find yourself locked out without a key, and you can set additional codes for neighbors, service people, etc. so if one of those has to be changed, you don't have to learn a new code yourself.

[edmart001]

Folks - Thanks for all the comments. As usual, I learn a lot reading this forum. I have a few responses that I'd like to share:

1. All the windows here are hard wired with recessed contact switches. I've checked with a magnet and am now convinced I have either a switch or wire problem.

2. A technician will be making a service call within the next few days. After resolving the problem with the particular zone in question, I intend to have him add another siren or buzzer inside the house (the one we have is actually outside, which is why everyone inside didn't hear it). I will also look into what it takes to add a keypad to the master bedroom and possibly one upstairs as well (the one we have is downstairs by the back door and I admit that I was drawn to wanting to go downstairs in order to silence the siren).

3. Excaliber - Your posts are one of the reasons I read this forum almost daily. I find your writings a font of knowledge, heartily agree with virtually everything you write and have learned much from you. However, my original post did not adequately convey the entire situation (I guess they rarely do). After taking the below into account you may still think me guilty of grave tactical error, but there are two points I did not adequately convey that I think may be important.

Firstly, I did not proceed more than a few feet from the room where I was sleeping and I was still mostly behind cover before I was nearly certain I did not have an intruder in the house. Without knowing the layout of my house, it's difficult to relate, but I could see that the front door and all the windows to the front half of the house were intact from the balcony just outside my bedroom door. Then within just a few steps down the stairs I could see most of the back half of the house including the back door and the alarm keypad. Once could see the keypad, I knew the zone that caused the alarm was in the front of the house and I could confirm for certain that everything in that area appeared normal. I proceed down the stairs. I did not go down the stairs thinking I had an intruder inside the house. By the time I went downstairs I thought perhaps someone had jostled something from outside enough to set the alarm off and then either ran or maybe was still outside waiting for me to shut off the alarm and go outside to investigate and then try to jump me outside and gain entry that way.

The other point that I didn't communicate is that I knew I already had backup in the house. The adult son I mentioned just boomeranged back home earlier this this summer after serving 5 years active duty in the US Army, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and is a veteran of two combat tours (he's attending college now). In his 5 years on active duty, he spent right at half that time in Iraq. Although he didn't go "tactical" this morning, I know he keeps at least one loaded weapon with him at all times (he also has a CHL). I also know he is much better trained in how to effectively use firearms and has much more experience at doing so than most. I am absolutely certain that had either my wife or I called out, or heaven forbid, had shots been fired, his response would have been swift and accurate.

I've been thinking about it almost all day and I'm pretty comfortable with what I did overall but I do agree that the big thing I should do differently if the same thing were to happen again is get my wife into my sons room, wake up my son, and then discuss the next steps with him before doing anything else. Of course, if the VA ever gets caught up with his GI Bill payments, he will probably move out to his own place and then it'll be back down to the wife and I here.

Thanks again to everyone for their input.

[Kevinf2349]

+1 for the wireless keypad and hidden key inside the garage.

Remember to change the code on the door opener too. Many people forget to do this and leave the default factory settings in place.

Did the alarm company ever call 911 for you?

[srothstein]

I was going to post exactly what Excaliber did, but then I saw he beat me to it so i was going to leave this alone. For the general rule, I could not agree more that taking a defensive position and waiting is the best option. Even the military will tell you it takes about a 10 to 1 advantage to take out a holed up unit.

But then you pointed out that you had backup immediately available. This means you just committed one of the worst possible errors. In law enforcement, we call it tombstone courage. You had backup available and did not use it while you made the check. I can certainly understand having untrained family members stay where you know they are, but your son is not untrained. In fact, in this case, if anyone was going to make the check alone, it might have been better for him to do it.

I still think the best thing is to take a defensive position at the point where you can cover all of the family for safety (some door in the hallway usually works. Then call for the police and let them make the check. But if you are going to check and have backup available, you are asking for trouble when you do not use it.

And yes, I have made the mistake of canceling or not asking for backup when I really needed it. This is one of the reasons I harp on this so much with new officers. I hope I did not come across too strongly, but this is one of my pet peeves.

[Excaliber]

I've been thinking about it almost all day and I'm pretty comfortable with what I did overall but I do agree that the big thing I should do differently if the same thing were to happen again is get my wife into my sons room, wake up my son, and then discuss the next steps with him before doing anything else. Of course, if the VA ever gets caught up with his GI Bill payments, he will probably move out to his own place and then it'll be back down to the wife and I here.

I'm happy to hear that some of my posts are helpful to you. It's truly gratifying to hear that.

With the additional detail you provided, I'll make another suggestion. Get together with the family and discuss exactly what actions each member will take if the alarm goes off in the middle of the night now, before that situation happens again. Imminent danger sharply reduces one's ability to think straight, so it's not a good time for formulating plans. Also, with two armed and trained people sleeping on different floors of the house, it's really important that you know exactly what each will do and where each one will be so you don't have a tragic outcome. Considering the amount of movement involved to get everyone in one place, you might also consider two defensive positions - one in the upstairs bedroom for you, and one in your son's room for him and your wife. It would be much safer for her to move a short distance to another room on the same floor than it would be for you to get there from upstairs. Stairways are not fun places to be when things go south.

If you have a good alarm sounding device installed inside as you plan, your son should awaken when you do. Having a keypad installed in the master bedroom is also an excellent idea. I strongly recommend the English language LED types. They cost a little more, but when you're awakened by your siren in the middle of the night it's a lot easier to figure out what "Back Door" means than it is to interpret "Zone 4". You could then communicate the location of the break to your other family members so they have an idea of what might be going on.

I agree with both you and Steve that getting the family together and in one protected place should be your priority, and make that room your defensive perimeter. Steve is right on about the difficulty of successfully attacking a prepared defensive position, and I'm sure your son has ample experience to confirm that.

You might also consider a set of walkie-talkie radios with earpieces and throat mikes for each member so you can communicate as you move to get together. They're not expensive, and they're worth their weight in gold when needed. Another option is to use the intercom feature on your wireless phones if extensions are located in each bedroom, which they should be for any emergency. The drawbacks to that is someone calling to you will generate ring sounds that can give your position away if you use it while moving, and with most sets only two phones can talk with each other, which leaves your third family member out of the loop. I mention it because it might be an acceptable option for someone else with only one other family member to account for.

In any case, your unscheduled exercise turns out to be a good thing. Your thinking and planning for a real situation is far ahead of what it was before that alarm went off, and you'll be far better prepared with a new plan you can have confidence in for next time.