We’ve talked a lot about Seattle’s Night Out Against Crime—it is, after all, one of the coolest security and safety events in the Pacific Northwest. Well, we’ve had quite a few inquiries about the event so I thought we’d do a bit of a rundown on what Night Out is really about and answer some of the most common questions. Every August the city of Seattle celebrates its Annual Night Out Against Crime with over a thousand neighborhood events (last year there were 1,327! That’s some serious neighborhood commitment to safety and anti-crime). The main idea of the event is that neighborhoods get together, get to know one another, and agree that fighting crime is something that is important to them. This helps people coordinate house-watches, neighborhood-watches, and helps people to feel accountable to their community. It’s a wonderful event and we suggest that next year you encourage your neighborhood to get out and celebrate!

Q. What police precinct is our neighborhood in?

A. The Seattle PD has a great map that can help you understand where police precinct lines are. This will help you with Night Out organizations and to be more generally aware of what the Police Department organization is so that if you ever need to call the station for a non-emergency you’ll know where it is and what the number is.

Q. What do I have to do to participate in Night Out?

A. Well, firstly you should register online with the Seattle PD (the registration form will be available on their website as the time get closer to the 2012 event) and let them know that you want to participate, that you’d like to close your street (this is allowed so long as you do not live in an arterial street and you do not close your intersection). Then you should get cracking and organize a block-party like event with your neighbors. This is a great chance to pull out the barbeque, play some music, and really let loose with your neighbors. It’s particularly fun if you have everyone bring a side dish and assign one grill-master. You can also sign up (again on the PD website nearer to the summer event) for members of the police and fire departments to visit your party and talk with your neighbors and kids about safety and security.

Q. What do I actually have to do to close my street?

A. So long as you have registered with the police department and meet the criteria for closing your street, all you have to do is set up a barricade (using anything like a table or a sawhorse to block the street) and attach a printable sign provided by the PD to let everyone know that you are celebrating Night Out Against Crime!

We hope that this has answered a few of your questions and that you will celebrate the event with us. Also, if you live elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, you should check with your local PD to see if they sponsor a local Night Out event!

http://www.seattle.gov/police/nightout/default.htm

Hopefully, you have watched Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase and hopefully your cringed a bit as Clark Wilhelm Griswold starts plugging in hundreds of lights to his single power outlet. So, after a bit of research I found that Clark Griswold officially plugged in: 250 strands of lights with 100 bulbs on each strand for a total of 25,000 light bulbs. So if these lights were premium mini lights here is the calculation. Clark plugged in: (250 strands * (.34 amps per 100 lights) = 85 amps … with just the basic lights. In Clark Griswold’s world his 15 amp circuit would have blown really quick! (note I think Clark used a much high wattage bulb then the standard mini)

The point to this story is… pay attention to how many strands of lights you place on a single circuit breaker. Since it is hard to tell what outlets a single circuit breaker covers, then please take one quick look at the labels on your circuit breaker and come to a conservative conclusion. The following chart is located on the Christmas Lights Etc website, but I find it very useful.

The chart indicates how many strands of lights can be run on a normal household’s 15 Amp, 120 Volt, 1440 Watt circuit.

Since Christmas lights use a continuous flow of electricity (unlike your toaster or blender which are turned on and off frequently), it is common practice to only utilize 80% of a 15 Amp circuit, thus we will only use 1440 Watts

Note:  keep in mind that this circuit breaker probably has other household devices plugged into it… so be conservative on the number of light strands.

From our family here at Allied Fire and Security, we wish you and your family the happiest of Thanksgivings! I hope you eat some delicious food, watch a good game, and enjoy your time with your family! We’ll be right back here on Monday so make sure you check back in!

We have a wide range of skills and specialties here at Allied Fire and Security. Sure we are experts in home and office security, but we also have a great knowledge of CFATS (check out our blog from a while back if you are interested in learning more about CFATS and learning what it is it) and even pneumatic tube systems.

Pneumatic tube systems are one of those technologies that you’d never imagine had such a rich history as it does. When I was a kid, pneumatic tubes were those things that my mom stuck her paycheck in while we went through the drive-in window at the bank. Well…that was a long time ago, because today we all use direct-debit and online transfers and all that. But it all started with pneumatic tubes. So what exactly are pneumatic tubes and how do they work? Pneumatic tubes are systems in which cylindrical contains are propelled through a network of tubes using compressed air or sometimes by a partial vacuum. This system of transportation is used to move all sorts of solid objects including but not limited to small packages, pills or other medical supplies, notes or memos. This sort of transportation for small goods was widespread in 19^th and 20^th century businesses including hospitals, banks, among city workers, and railway stations.

Did you know that in 1853 the London Stock Exchange used a pneumatic tube system to send messages between itself and the city’s main telegraph office, which was approximately 200 meters away. You can bet that that system saw all sorts of interesting financial news of the day. The City of Paris used pneumatic tubes across almost a quarter of a mile to rely messages, as did the cities of Berlin, Vienna, Prague, and even New York.

Since the 1960s and 1970s when many of these pneumatic tube networks were phased out, these communication systems have been replaced by couriers (who can go greater distances if at a slower speed), fax machines, e-mail, and now text messages. But, interestingly enough, the pneumatic tube system technology continues to evolve for several industries that still find these high-speed networks necessary. For example, hospitals still widely use pneumatic tube systems to rely messages, prescriptions, small packages, and whatnot amid a large hospital.

Well, now that you know more about pneumatic tube systems, if you think that your company might benefit from such, please give Allied Fire and Security a call and we’d be happy to give you a quote or talk about the advantages of using this sort of transport system.

Here at AlliedFireAndSecurity we focus on helping our customers maintain and improve their safety and security awareness. At some point you might sit back and say “I have secured all the essential aspects of my home or business.” Just when you thought you knew every aspect of security… here comes a whole new category of security concerns: “Alternative Energy Devices.”

There has been a resurgence in the last several years in the U.S. of electric and hybrid electric vehicles, and an increase in the use of other alternative energy sources including photovoltaics and smart grid technology. The successful integration of these new vehicles and other emerging alternative energy technology into the nation’s electrical safety infrastructure depends on the safe implementation, charging and storage of these energy sources and the maintenance of support equipment like charging stations.

Fortunately, the National Fire Protection Association and the Fire Protection Research Foundation have convened a symposium on December 6^th 2011 to address some of these new safety concerns. This symposium will address the safety concerns surround the charging, storage, and transportation of new alternative energy technologies. Our experts here at AlliedFireAndSecurity will track and research the results of this symposium and keep you up-to-date on the safety standards and recommendations produced by this group.

Yes, the family is all here, kids are running around, football game on the TV, friend talking, all the stove burners cooking… put it all together and you have three times the national average of fires per day. Let’s face it you are multitasking 15 different jobs and the stove top just gets overlooked.

Cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and related injuries. In 2005-2009, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 155,400 home fires per year involving cooking equipment. These fires caused an annual average of 390 civilian deaths, 4,800 civilian injuries, and $771 million in direct property damage.

Thanksgiving is a day to love life and love your family… protect them with just a few safety tips:

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food.
• Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently.
• Keep children away from the stove. The stove will behot and kids should stay 3 feet away.
• Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
• Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.
• Keep knives out of the reach of children.
• Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
• Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children — up high in a locked cabinet.
• Never leave children alone in room with a lit a candle.
• Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.

We are so proud of our Allied Fire and Security Family here in the Pacific Northwest! Sometimes we just can’t help but gush about how great everyone here is. For example, here is a video of The Hunt Family of Allied Fire and Security being initiated into the Business Hall of Fame (that’s serious! Right!) in the Pacific Northwest. We really do everything we can to be the very best business we can from superior customer service to the most competitive prices to the very best security technicians and the most innovative technology available!  That’s why this award means so much to us – it is so amazing to be recognized for something we care about so dearly.

Have you ever won an award you were especially proud of? What was it?

Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner and that means you all are probably getting ready to get all the kids in the car and make that trek to Gramma and Grampa’s house for the holidays. It’s certainly a magical time of year—but not if you come home from the holidays and find your home burglared and your valuables amiss. Just when you are leaving your home for the holidays, the burglars are just starting to case your neighborhood. (You don’t know what sort of Grinches are lingering around the corner!)

While there is no guarantee that your home will be burglar-free, but there are some steps you can take to protect your home while you are away during the holidays! The number one thing that will help, is to call our staff at Allied Fire and Security to ask for a consultation for a security installation Tips for protecting your home while you’re away on holiday:

• Have a neighbor pick up your mail and newspapers.
• Make arrangements to have someone mow your lawn.
• Leave lights and televisions on automatic timers.
• Notify your local police department that you will be away.
• Ask a neighbor or friend to stop by your house periodically; have them open and close blinds, turn on different lights.
• Let your neighbors know when you are leaving and when you plan to return home and if you are expecting anybody at your house while you are away.
• Make sure all trees and shrubs are trimmed near all doors and windows where intruders might hide. Add exterior lights and consider lights that are activated by motion sensors.
• Burglars like to work quickly, so try to slow down their path into and around the house. You can accomplish this with:
  1. deadbolt locks
  2. window locks
  3. bars placed in the tracks or track locks on all sliding glass doors and windows (if they would not impede your escape in an emergency)
  4. locks on all doors and windows
• Don’t place the fact you are gone on your telephone answering machine.
• Don’t broadcast the fact that you’ll be away on Twitter, Facebook, craigslist, in your blog or anywhere else on the Internet.
• Don’t hide your keys on your property.
• A nosy neighbor is a burglar’s worst enemy. Get to know your neighbors and work out an arrangement to watch each other’s houses. Let them know when you will be gone and whether any deliveries are expected during your absence.
• Store jewelry and other valuables in a safe hiding place, such as an in-home safe or a safety deposit box.
• Go through each room and write down a list of possessions, including serial numbers. Take pictures of your valuables and keep them in a safe place or with a friend or relative. This will help in the event of a burglary.

We hope this list of tips and trick will help your home be safe during the happiest time of the year! Do you have any other suggestions or tips you can recommend to our readers? This list is inspired by the one found here.

We went for a hike on the coast a few months ago and parked in an official “Parks and Recreation” lot. Just a short walk down the beach for a breath of fresh air. Upon returning to the car I noticed broken glass on the passengers side of the car. Within a second my friend was leaning up against the car in shock… her purse, iPhone, and camera were gone. Even though I know the security risk with objects left in the car, I forgot to check my friend’s seat before locking up the car. So all of this prompted me to write a short set of facts and recommendations about this crime.

Larceny-theft is the “unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession . . . of another. It includes crimes such as shoplifting, picking pockets, purse snatching, thefts from motor vehicles, thefts of motor vehicle parts and accessories, bicycle thefts, etc., in which no use of force, violence, or fraud occurs.”

In my case the larceny is classified as “From Motor Vehicle” … and I think the numbers speak for themselves.

Here are a few ideas of how to prevent this crime:

• NEVER leave your car unattended—especially if unlocked—with the engine running.
• While out and about, try to park in well lit, high visibility locations.
• Keep your vehicle locked at ALL times. This applies whether your car is in a parking lot or in your driveway.
• Keep windows and sunroofs closed completely.
• NEVER leave valuables such as purses, laptop computers, portable music players, GPS units, cameras, CDs, weapons, tools, cell phones or cash in your vehicle. If you must keep purchases in the vehicle while out shopping, for example, keep them in the trunk or completely out of view.
• Do not leave book bags, gym bags or luggage in view as an offender assumes they contain valuables.
• Invest in an auto alarm system. Place alarm decals on the windows to help deter offenders.
• Do not hide spare keys in or under your vehicle—offenders know where to find them!
• Don’t hesitate to report suspicious persons in or around vehicles.