Night Terror

[Dennis1209]

Talk about a reality check? The wife and I were deep asleep when this piercing sound woke me up. Coming out of such a deep sleep, it took me a moment to realize it was the burglar alarm. If any of you have an ADT system with that ear piercing whistling siren, you know what I’m talking about.

We have had this system for about a year and a half and have never had any false alarms. I was thinking of that and many other things as I grabbed my S&W 686+, .357 magnum pistol sitting on top of my nightstand next to me. I also have a Remington 870 shotgun loaded with 00 buckshot next to the bed. I realize now the shotgun is just too unwieldy for the configuration of my home.

Shaking and somewhat confused on what to do next, not being able to hear anything because of the ear-piercing siren, I decided the siren had to be turned off because it could not be tolerated for any length of time. The single control panel is located in the kitchen at the opposite end of the house. The siren is located on the hallway wall half way between the bedroom and kitchen control panel.

As I slowly and carefully made my way down the hall while checking for intruders, the siren was actually hurting my ears, and my hands were shaking. We always keep a living room lamp light on. After checking the living room, dining room and kitchen and seeing it was clear, I disabled the siren. What a head relief!

Fortunately having a pair of reading glasses near the alarm control panel I checked the code on the read out. Code 02, basement motion detector. This is where I always suspected to be the most logical place for a BG to enter. The motion detector immediately activates the alarm, not the 45 second count down for the windows and doors.

At that moment the telephone in the living room rings, we don’t have a phone in the bedrooms. I’m certain it’s ADT calling about the alarm. The wife had followed me down a few moments later.

The door leading to the basement has the standard doorknob lock, a dead bolt and one of those useless chain things with the tiny screws securing it. I tell the wife to answer the phone as I am covering the basement door hoping no one will come barging through. The ADT person tells my wife, “we have received an alarm from your address, Code 02 basement motion detector, what is your password?†The wife is relaying this information to me as my eyes are trained on the basement door.

The ADP person asked my wife, “are you going to check the basement or do you want us to send the police?†With hands still shaking I thought for a moment… To me, the best course of action was to get the police here, quick. She informed my wife they are calling. It was probably 3-4 minutes from the time the alarm went off until ADT called, assuming I immediately awoke when the alarm went off.

I have a police scanner sitting close to the alarm panel I seldom use and thought this was an opportune time to turn it on to monitor the Sheriffs progress. I live in EBFE and sure enough, the deputy sheriff called dispatch for directions.

The dispatcher called and informed my wife that the deputy was here and unchaining my driveway gate. The deputy later informed me it was policy to call the homeowner before arrival for safety reasons (home owner with gun). It took roughly 20 minutes for the deputy to arrive.

While waiting for the police to arrive I happened to look at the clock, a few minutes after 3 A.M. Thinking to myself, from what I’ve read, two to three o’clock seems to be the prime time for home invasions.

Seeing the police car driving up my 200+ yard driveway, I pondered what to do with my handgun. Put it away or keep it near and cover it with a towel or something. Since he was on scene I felt comfortable enough to take it back where it came from.

I didn’t know if he would come to the front or back door so I turned on the front and backlights and opened the doors. He cautiously approached the back door and announced sheriffs department and I made myself visible and told him to come in.

I gave him a brief description of what happened and the alarm code. He told me the first bit of good news was my gate was closed and chained when he arrived (no pad lock, just a clip).

He then cautiously opened the basement door with flashlight in hand, turned the basement light on and slowly started down the stairs. I’m thinking, dude, you need to have your handgun drawn? I’m reasonably certain someone broke in and might still be there. But, I’m not about to say anything as he is a professional and is trained, it’s my over active imagination probably.

After what seemed to be an hour, but probably only 4-5 minutes, I hear the officer coming up the steps. He was down there for quite some time. Now I’m really wondering where they broke in from and how much damage was done. He asks me a couple questions about my garage door, something about if it locks? The single car garage is separated from the basement with a flimsy hollow door and dead bolt.

With great anticipation, he finally tells me everything looks secure and there was no break in. I can’t tell you the relief my wife and I experienced at that news. It still took us a couple of hours to calm down before we could attempt to go back to bed.

Before departing, the deputy complemented me on my Liberty safe in the basement and we talked a good ten minutes on what could have caused a motion detector false alarm and crime statistics in my county, etc. before he left. A good guy!

Lessons learned: While I am fortunate this was a false alarm and grateful for such, what if it was the real thing?

After the deputy departed, one of my first thoughts was, I need to get me a good alert / guard dog. But in retrospect that might not be a good thing. I had a good alert dog at my previous residence but has since passed away from old age. We had the same ADP alarm system and my wife burnt something in the oven and set off the smoke alarm. The dog went crazy yelping and running around from the high pitch loud noise. Seems to me that would be one more distraction to deal with in an emergency?

The shotgun is too unwieldy for me to use indoors with the configuration of my home. Guess I’ll put it back in the safe as it is a better outdoor defense gun, and I don’t “plan†on checking out or confronting anyone outdoors at night.

I have a phone jack in the bedroom. I need to get a hard line phone for it today because that’s the number the police will call upon arrival, the telephone number of your alarm system the ADP people give the police.

I have a set of electronic earmuffs in my range bag. I’m going to put them next to my home defense pistol. I wonder if they will muffle the ear piercing alarm? With the alarm off they do enhance your hearing significantly, which is an advantage.

Most importantly, I need to get some training and work on my mind set. Instead of trembling hands, I should have been pissed someone has the balls to break into my home.

For me anyway, seems my best laid plans went out the window when that alarm went off! It also a different story when it’s daytime and you’re prepared, alert and condition yellow compared to at your most vulnerable, asleep in bed.

Sorry about being long winded.

[zgunbear]

Another suggestion get another control panel for the alarm installed in the bed room.

[hornett22]

I agree. Whoever installed that control panel there wasn't too bright.

[rab]

I to have ADT and have had a false alarm on my sliding door in the dining room in the middle of the night, that sound sure get your mind in a different state, what I did was to put some tape on the inside of the alarm and it sure tone it down so that you can hear the phone ring from ADT,they always call in 90 sec. after the alarm goes off for I have set it off by mistake

[Makiaveli]

I agree. Whoever installed that control panel there wasn't too bright.

I think it's mostly just lack of foresight. Mine is at the complete other end of the house, since that is where we come and go 99% of the time. Just didn't think about needing to shut off the alarm in an emergency. Fortunately the siren is close to there so it isn't deafening in the rest of the house but will easily wake you up. Our false alarm was caused by forgetting the neighbor dog was visiting and when she got up in the middle of the night the motion detector went off.

My favorite false alarm was I opened the front door at 2am to ask the guy walking around why he was just beating on my door. About the time I realized he was a cop (neighbor's horse was loose) and stowed my gun the alarm went off. Fortunately he jumped almost as much as I did so I didn't feel too bad

[Mike.357]

Adt should have a keychain remote that you can get.

I can arm, disarm all from a two button remote.

My basement motion detector went off once for no apparant reason. I don't know if a bug crawling over the detector ccould set it off or not.

Pretty much came to the conclusion over time that a dog was better than adt. And i think adt is false security, when it comes down to it the cops can only take a report.

[Grunt67]

Interesting story. I've never had a home alarm system, for some of the reasons you encountered. The alarm ads bug me

in that they do exactly as yours did, call the homeowner first, then the police may be notified. A lot can happen in that length

of time. The alarms that are connected to our Sheriffs Dept. go straight to dispatch. A Dep. is notified & he must respond,

even if it may be a false alarm. Policy.

Regardless, it still takes time for an officer to respond, which could be too late. Better than nothing, especialy if no one is home.

That piercing alarm makes it mighty difficult to hear an intruder in the house as well.

They serve a limited purpose, but as another poster said, it may be false security.

Make sure you cover your own butt as much as possible. You'll be the first on the scene.

Glad yours turned out ok.

[UncleJak]

I think you did the right thing. I don't think anyone would have been super calm in that situation. There is always room for improvement in anything, but point is you are safe. Hopefully there won't be a "next time", but if there is I am sure you will be better.

[dralarms]

Adt should have a keychain remote that you can get.

I can arm, disarm all from a two button remote.

My basement motion detector went off once for no apparant reason. I don't know if a bug crawling over the detector ccould set it off or not.

Pretty much came to the conclusion over time that a dog was better than adt. And i think adt is false security, when it comes down to it the cops can only take a report.

Yes, ADT can get you a remote,

Yes a bug crawling across the motion looks like an elephant. LOL

Alarms serve their purpose, but they only are able to notify after an incident.

Interesting story. I've never had a home alarm system, for some of the reasons you encountered. The alarm ads bug me

in that they do exactly as yours did, call the homeowner first, then the police may be notified. A lot can happen in that length

of time. The alarms that are connected to our Sheriffs Dept. go straight to dispatch. A Dep. is notified & he must respond,

even if it may be a false alarm. Policy.

Regardless, it still takes time for an officer to respond, which could be too late. Better than nothing, especialy if no one is home.

That piercing alarm makes it mighty difficult to hear an intruder in the house as well.

They serve a limited purpose, but as another poster said, it may be false security.

Make sure you cover your own butt as much as possible. You'll be the first on the scene.

Glad yours turned out ok.

They don't allow "direct connects" any longer. The monthly charge from the phone company is almost as much as a phone line, plus those relays always malfunction.

Now, my central station is fast, They will be on the phone with me in under 1 min.

As far as the keypad. ADT and the other companies like them install the keypad where it's convenient for THEM, not the customer. Make them install a second, or make them get you the keyfobs (keychain remotes) and before you pay them for either let me know what they are charging (I might be able to help you out).

[Makiaveli]

Another reason they call you first is too many false calls can get you fined. At least in Davidson county, I assume it's similar most places. If it happens to you once a year, multiply that by all the people with alarms, add in all the businesses with stupid employees and the city would need a Alarm division along with Traffic, Burglary, and Homicide etc.

[hornett22]

When I did alarms, I ALWAYS installed them in the master bedroom. You do not want to be wandering around the house during an intrusion.

[tnhawk]

My hounds will respond faster than ADT or the police.

[Timestepper]

One thing I can't quite wrap my brain around - and believe me, I absolutely do not want to demean or disparage the O.P. - but I always thought that the purpose of Home Alarm systems were to give peace of mind and a sense of security. Now, because of one evidently false alarm, the poor O.P. is more insecure than ever. Even to the point of second guessing himself. Man, that would suck and I feel for anyone who finds themselves in this situation.

There have been times in the past when I considered some sort of home alarm system. But this thread has been an eye opener and I now think it's probably the last thing I want.

[Mike.357]

to add, the one really good thing the home alarm system does is you can set it to "stay". Great for night when everyone is indoors for the duration. The motion detectors are disabled so you can move freely in your house, but if a door opens the alarm instantly goes off. That piercing alarm will wake you up. I sleep hard and house noises don't wake me. Even the dog doing her thing will not wake me up. At least the alarm will. It is good for that fact.

[Timestepper]

Man, Mike, I envy you your sleeping abilities! My wife gets ticked because I can go to bed and go right to sleep while she has to lay there and listen to me snore, but then I wake up when a mouse farts. Heck I probably wake up half a dozen times through the course of a night and lay there and just listen for a few minutes. When I'm satisfied that everything is right with the world, I doze off again.

Seems like the only time I can really sleep good and hard is when it's storming and I'm guessing that's only because I can't hear anything over the sound of rain on the steel roof.

Guess since I'm on the road during the week, a home alarm system might still be a good idea for my wife as long as I remember to disable it on the weekends.

Definitely food for thought!

[hammerdrop99]

We too have Brinks/ADT and it is amazing how fast you can go from sound asleep and relaxed to full awake and more tense than you have ever been. We have had a couple of false alarms due to mice in the basement. The motion sensor is mounted on a small ledge at the base of the stairs, to which I have since blocked access from Mickey and his friends. On one alarm event, I opened the basement door, shined my flashlight down the stairs and the mouse was sitting on top of the motion sensor. I was tempted to shoot him with the .357, but my wife would have never forgiven me for scaring the crap out of her.

[Guest ab28]

Get a high capacity 9mm with hollowpoints for home defense. That is the beauty of my system, my carry gun is also my home defense gun, simplicity.

[Makiaveli]

Man, Mike, I envy you your sleeping abilities! My wife gets ticked because I can go to bed and go right to sleep while she has to lay there and listen to me snore, but then I wake up when a mouse farts. Heck I probably wake up half a dozen times through the course of a night and lay there and just listen for a few minutes. When I'm satisfied that everything is right with the world, I doze off again.

Seems like the only time I can really sleep good and hard is when it's storming and I'm guessing that's only because I can't hear anything over the sound of rain on the steel roof.

Guess since I'm on the road during the week, a home alarm system might still be a good idea for my wife as long as I remember to disable it on the weekends.

Definitely food for thought!

As a side note, that sounds like Sleep Apnea. Long story short, the snoring is actually you not breathing and so you never really get into deep sleep. One "positive" side effect of the sleep deprivation is you can fall asleep anywhere, anytime.

Might want to check with your doc. On the other hand, if a mouse burglar ever breaks in, he better hope he passed on the beans

[Timestepper]

As a side note, that sounds like Sleep Apnea. Long story short, the snoring is actually you not breathing and so you never really get into deep sleep. One "positive" side effect of the sleep deprivation is you can fall asleep anywhere, anytime.

Might want to check with your doc. On the other hand, if a mouse burglar ever breaks in, he better hope he passed on the beans

I've been checked. No apnea. And I really don't snore that bad except for during allergy season. Just had a knack, ever since I was a kid, for completely relaxing at any given time enough to doze off - almost borderline narcolepsy, except that I do it on purpose. I also seem to have some sort of clock in my head because no matter when I set the external alarm for, I invariably wake up about 3 - 5 minutes before it goes off. Last I checked that particular ability/quirk wasn't one of the side affects of sleep deprivation. Guess I'm just weird.

As to why I can sleep all night long when it's raining - never could figure that one out except that I just can't hear anything over the sound of the rain. Works in the truck, at home, or when I'm camping. (But I still wake up before the alarm goes off.)

Edited May 20, 2012 by Timestepper

[Makiaveli]

I've been checked. No apnea. And I really don't snore that bad except for during allergy season. Just had a knack, ever since I was a kid, for completely relaxing at any given time enough to doze off - almost borderline narcolepsy, except that I do it on purpose. I also seem to have some sort of clock in my head because no matter when I set the external alarm for, I invariably wake up about 3 - 5 minutes before it goes off. Last I checked that particular ability/quirk wasn't one of the side affects of sleep deprivation. Guess I'm just weird.

As to why I can sleep all night long when it's raining - never could figure that one out except that I just can't hear anything over the sound of the rain. Works in the truck, at home, or when I'm camping. (But I still wake up before the alarm goes off.)

Good to hear. Hated to derail the thread, but it can cause major problems if untreated. I just wish I had the ability to fall asleep like that...

[Timestepper]

Good to hear. Hated to derail the thread, but it can cause major problems if untreated. I just wish I had the ability to fall asleep like that...

Me too what you said regarding the derailment. As to the other, I'm a truck driver and I'm a smoker and I'm 20 pounds heavier (6'1" - 205) than I'd like to be. The problems apnea could potentially cause for me would be to never have another decent night's sleep in my life because I fell asleep at the wheel and killed someone. THAT's why I got checked. Not to say I don't get tired during the day, but I don't get SLEEPY during the day unless I'm sitting somewhere and have a few minutes with nothing to do. Then I close my eyes, think of my wife briefly, then take a few moments to sort out the sounds in the background... then I sleep until someone or something wakes me up. I'm GLAD I can cork out and recharge a little whenever or where ever I have the opportunity; it's come in damned handy over the years. I WISH I could sleep for 10 hours straight like my wife does. I WISH I could sleep through the dogs doing their business like Mike.357 does. But I'm a light sleeper. Always have been unless I'm really sick or it's raining.

Sooo... if some bad guy (or gaseous mouse) wants to break into to our place while I'm home, they'd better damn well be prepared to get wet.

With apologies once again for the derailment, we now return you to your regularly scheduled thread. Please carry on!

[Spook]

I'd think twice about putting the shotgun away. I understand that you may not want to go prowling through your house but it could be useful if you need to hunker down in your bedroom/safe haven.

[DaveS]

Time...it all comes from the many months between "Ronnyvue" when one MUST sleep light and with eyes and ears open. The Red Savages, Griz and Wolf slip about in the dark too much!

Hopefully you'll get better real soon!

Dave

[dickenscpa]

We had ADT installed in our first house in '96. We have ADT in our house now but a more new fangled version with remotes and so forth. In that first starter house (It was built in 1947) the front door was bad about not fully latching. You had to be sure you closed it well. We rarely used the front door so not a huge deal. My wife opened the front door at some point during the day and didn't close it properly. About 2AM and being asleep a few hours, a thunderstorm cropped up and the wind caused the door to slightly open.

Nothing as sobering as waking from a deep sleep at 2AM to that alarm.

I actually set off our alarm kinda the night before last (Monday night). We have a basement level garage and I went down stairs to reload. My wife broke her ankle last Thursday and she's been sleeping in a guest bedroom so I don't kick her in the middle of the night. LOL! 2 yr old asleep in her room, 9 yr old asleep in his room, wife in guest BR and me in the garage. Wife thinks I'm in bed and sets alarm and also locks me down stairs. Luckily my keys were in my pocket. I open the door and the alarm goes off. I was able to use remote to get it off quickly and caught the phone call to give them our password.

We set the alarm to give a 45 sec warning when leaving the house and set it for immediate when we go to bed so no warning whistle at night, it goes full blare. First false alarm in about 15 years.

Brad