Want to learn a trick to turn your burglar alarm into a fire alarm system? Before we tell you, you might be wondering why you would need a fire alarm system in your home. Here are a few fire statistics that you might not appreciate yet:
Each year there are 369,000 home fires reported by the NFPA.
- Each year approximately 2,700 people die in home fires
- The average fire claim is almost $35,000 of repair and replacement costs
- Now you can see why you should seriously think about adding a home fire alarm system
You might be wondering though, “don’t I have smoke detectors already?” Yes, every home is required to be equipped with smoke detectors by the current fire codes. Your existing smoke detectors will wake you up in case there is smoke in your home.
Smoke detectors save lives
However these are local smoke detectors only. This means that in the event of smoke, a siren will go off, but the fire department will not be dispatched.
Here is the million dollar question: what if your home catches fire while you are on vacation?
- Your smoke detectors will go off in your home.
- Since no one is home to call the fire department your home may burn to the ground.
What can you do?
The answer is adding monitored smoke detectors and heat detectors to your home security system.
- First you will need to get a monitored security system.
- Discuss with your consultant the best place to install monitored smoke detectors and heat detectors. (Outside kitchen, attic, basement)
- Monitor these through a local central alarm station so that the police and fire department are alerted in case of smoke and fire.
- Remember to talk to your insurance agent from insurancehub.com to make sure you get your homeowners discount!
Now when we look at the same scenario: If your home catches fire when you are on vacation, notice what happens:
- At the first sign of smoke your smoke detectors will go off.
- The signal travels through your telephone lines to the local central monitoring center.
- You will be called on your cell phone that an alarm has sounded.
- The fire department will be dispatched to your home immediately to prevent the fire from spreading and keeping the damage to a minimum.
As you can see, installing monitored smoke detectors are a wise investment on your part. They save lives and limit fire damage. If you have any questions on how much you would save on your homeowners insurance by installing monitored smoke detectors in your home, call your InsuranceHub agent right now or use our live chat service.
