Your home security system is designed to keep you safe and protected in your home, keeping intruders out or alerting you and even the authorities if they do break in. But how do you react in this latter situation? Someone has broken into your house while you are home, so what steps should you take to keep yourself and your family safe.
Get out of the house if you can
Different people’s instincts will tell them to react in different ways depending on their sensibilities. You might want to hide and wait for them to leave in an attempt to keep yourself and your family out of harm’s way. You could make a lot of noise and perhaps shout that the police are on their way, hoping that the burglar will cut their losses and leave in fear of getting caught. Or you could try to defend yourself, your home, and your family from the intruder.
All of the above options could potentially end badly, so the safest option is to get out of the house as quickly and quietly as possible. If it’s safe, head straight for the door on the opposite side of the house to where the burglar entered. If not, look for a window where you will be able to safely lower yourself to the ground. You can try throwing out a mattress or blankets to give yourself a softer landing if escaping from the second floor.
Barricade yourself in
If you can’t safely exit your home, then go to a room where you can lock or barricade yourself in, such as the bathroom. Chances are that the intruder is there to steal your valuables rather than to intentionally harm you and your family unprovoked, so choosing a room without many valuables in it will reduce the risk of them trying to break into that room with excessive force.
Alert the authorities
As soon as you’re safe, call the police to inform them of the situation and have officers sent to your home. If you have a professionally monitored home security system, then the police may have already been notified as soon as your alarm was triggered. Many monitored security systems require you to confirm the situation to prevent false alarms, so try to access your connected smartphone so that you can respond to any communication. But don’t risk going back into the house to retrieve your phone.
Take all the measures you can to stop this from happening by upgrading your home security system today. Contact Carolina Alarm for new security equipment, installation, and professional security monitoring around Greensboro, Winston Salem, and Kernersville, NC.