Category Archives: Safety

The Best Places to Install Home Safes

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For peace of mind it is always a smart idea to have home safes installed to store your valuables. Before going out and purchasing one you should determine where the best place is in your home to have it installed. These factors should be taken into consideration before you decide where to have your safe installed:
• What exactly you want to store in the safe
• How often you will need to access the items in the safe
• The type and weight of your chosen safe
If you will be using the safe to store things you will need access to frequently, security experts recommend keeping the safe as close to where you are going to use the things in it as possible. Otherwise you will be wasting a lot of time making unnecessary trips back and forth.

When you are using your safe to store items such as expensive watches or jewelry, the safe should be located in your master bedroom or nearby bedroom, or office. To save yourself a sore back, you might want to elevate the safe on top of either a strong shelf or pedestal. If you are a gun owner and you want to store firearms in your safe, make sure the safe is either close to or in your bedroom. Home safes that are specifically designed to only shelter one or two firearms can be bolted to the inside of your closet, under your bed, or on an end table next to your bed.
In the event that you are storing items in the safe that you will only need occasionally, experts recommend a spot that is out of the way of you and your family’s daily activities, a garage for example. If your safe will be used to store any collections you might have you should consider putting it either in your family room or a closet you can easily access. If you are a gun collector and not planning on firing any of the guns in the near future you could always use a gun case that can be displayed on a wall in your house. A fireproof safe should be used to store things such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, and any other important documents. These should most likely be kept in either your garage or office, as well.

Depending on what kind of safe you choose to use, you may not have a choice as to where to put it. Home safes that are designated as floor safes pretty much need to be installed either in a room of your house or your garage. If you are using a wall safe, put it someplace where it is not very obvious to visitors.

Blake Pappas has a background in criminal justice and sociology. He currently works in marketing and is a firearm enthusiast.

Home Security Tips Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: An Ex-Thief

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A one time thief who has turned over a new leaf was eager to give advice to homeowners to help them better protect their homes and property, and here it is:

Use a Quality Alarm System

A thief can spot a cheap or fake alarm system from a mile away and this ex-thief advises homeowners to get the best system that they can for their home. A system that is monitored is going to provide you with better protection.

Defend All of Your Entrances

A thief can easily enter your property through a side or back gate, but by making sure that you make it difficult for them to get over the gate, you will be providing more efficient protection to your home. You might add a trellis to the top that will not hold the weight of someone trying to get over it. A handle on the outside of the gate is not a good idea, as it can serve as a step for a thief to make it over the gate.

Close Your Drapes

When a thief is scoping out your home, he is looking in your windows as he is passing by, the same as your would when looking at a great suit in a store window. He’s checking out everything that he can in those few seconds that it takes to go past your window. He can see your TV, computer, stereo and other items that you have that he wants. Keeping your drapes, curtains or blinds closed will allow you to hide the valuables that you have in your home. You also want to make sure that your window locks are locked and are visible to outsiders.

Secure Your Outbuildings

Make sure that your outbuildings are secured as well as your home. Consider your outbuildings an extension of your home and make sure that you have a couple of locks on each building that are tough and hard to break. You can secure any windows by placing mesh fencing material over them; this will help protect your tools and lawn equipment.

Update Your Door Locks

If you have only one lock on your entry doors, make that one of the items that you address as quickly as possible. Place a deadbolt on each door to supplement the lock on your door knob. The harder you make it for a thief to get in, the more likely he is to move on.

Protect Your Mail Slot

If your home has a mail slot in the door, make sure that you place a wire cage at the slot that will prevent a thief from using a pole or stick to snag your keys from the hall table. You’ll still be able to get your mail from the cage, but the thief won’t be able to get your keys and break into your home or steal your vehicle.

Protect your property the best way that you can by using great tips from someone with first hand experience on how easy it can be to break in to your home.

Lynn Darsow is a home security consultant. She has gleaned this information by interviewing an ex-thief. She enjoys sharing her insights on the topping by blogging. Visit http://www.SelectHomeSecurity.com for more ideas for protecting your home.

Guns Versus Home Protection

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Gun control and gun ownership is a very hot button topic at the moment. People on the pro-side of the argument often site personal protection as a primary reason they wish to keep their right to bear arms. On the other side of the coin there is a lot of concern over the commercial availability of certain types of weapons, ammo, and clips.

While personal protection for the individual and family is very important, one question that seems to be overlooked is how effective are guns as protection especially in your home?
Depending on which state you live in, a criminal might actually have more rights than you do when using deadly force to protect yourself. There have been numerous cases where an intruder has been shot by a home owner and the owner was then liable for the medical bills of the intruder.

Also there is always the concern of people gaining access to guns within the house, especially those who have not received proper training in gun use and gun safety. Statistics have shown that firearms were the third-leading cause of injury-related deaths within the U.S. in 2010 (per the National Center for Injury Prevention).

With those two thoughts in mind, gun owners should reconsider the idea of a gun as a primary home protection method and consider other options to act as deterrents first. That would allow for proper gun safety and storage in the home through the use of gun locks or more preferably a gun safe. With less concern over needing immediate access to a weapon for defense, more of a premium can be placed on gun safety and security.

So what are some easy options to protect your house?

  • An Alarm System – These can be great deterrents because often times the signs alone will cause criminals to reconsider your home as a target.
  • Securing Your Home Yourself – There are a lot of great ways you can upgrade your own home such as better locks or using landscaping and lighting to act as natural deterrents.
  • Non-Lethal Options – Air horns, panic alarms, pepper spray, or even a taser can make excellent backups to the above options in case someone is determined to enter your home. As these are noted ‘non-lethal’ options your own personal rights to safety come into play over an intruder.
  • Combat Training – This can be considered self defense, but the idea is to learn hand-to-hand combat which can be very effective inside and outside of your home. In confined areas or smaller spaces a well trained combatant has some advantages even over an opponent with a gun.

This is not to say that people should not own guns. We have the right to bear arms. However gun safety is very important to prevent accidents or other situations from occurring. One of the safest methods to employ is keeping guns and ammunition locked securely and then utilizing other methods as deterrents first, knowing that you can still access a more lethal weapon as a last resort.

Nick Walden is a freelance writer, blogger and a gun enthusiast. Along with freelance work Nick is currently a Correspondent for the Press Democrat newspaper.

Walther PK380 Recall

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During an internal quality review, Carl Walther GmbH has identified a condition that may exist in certain PK380 pistols which may permit a round to be discharged if the trigger is pulled, despite engagement of the manual safety. Walther has found that engagement of the manual safety may not prevent firing of a chambered round when the trigger is pulled.

This recall applies to Walther PK380, .380 ACP pistols manufactured by Carl Walther GmbH from May through September 2012, which have a serial number range from PK101201 to PK112155.

STOP USING YOUR PISTOL AND RETURN IT TO WALTHERAMERICA AT ONCE.

Any unintended discharge of a firearm has the potential to cause injury, and we ask that you stop using your pistol until we have an opportunity to inspect it to make certain that there is no condition which will allow the pistol to discharge with the safety engaged.

To facilitate the inspection and repair, if necessary, of your pistol, please contact Waltheramerica’s customer service department at 1-800-713-0356 to receive instructions and a call tag for the return of your pistol to Waltheramerica.

Additional information will be posted on Waltheramerica.com. If you have any questions about this recall, please contact Waltheramerica at 1-800-713-0356.

Exploding Targets Set Off Fire

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Two new wildfires on Sunday may have been caused by exploding targets that, instead of just blowing up, sparked fires that quickly spread across the landscape, fire officials say.

A fire in the Mud Creek area near Entiat grew to 10 acres in 10 minutes, and to 95 acres in just over an hour, said Wenatchee Complex fire spokesman Mick Mueller. Jim Duck, dispatch coordinator for the Central Washington Interagency Communications Center, said the Entiat blaze pulled firefighters, a helicopter, bulldozers and engines from three other wildfires burning in the region, and those resources were able to contain it Sunday.

Another quarter-acre fire on Deadman Hill at 3:30 p.m. near Cashmere was quickly contained.

In the first fire, a father and son were shooting at exploding targets on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest at about 12:30 p.m., apparently igniting the fire, said John Wisemore, chief of administration for the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.

He said their investigation was turned over to the Forest Service law enforcement, since the fire started on the national forest.

“Whether it’s legal or not is one thing,” Wisemore said, adding, “It wasn’t very smart because of the dry conditions.”

Rick Acosta, spokesman for the Wenatchee Complex, said officials have identified the target shooters responsible for both fires, and they are different parties. He said the Forest Service is still investigating, and the agency has not determined whether there will be charges or attempts to recover costs of fire suppression.

Mueller said it’s fortunate the large interagency fire teams are in the area. “We could have had another large fire,” he said, adding, “As we demobilize folks who have been here a long time fighting fires, we won’t have the local resources for new initial attack.”

Using exploding targets is not legal during a burn ban, according to Brian Flint, spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources.

Kelsey Hilderbrand, owner of High Mountain Hunting Supply in Wenatchee, said exploding targets usually do not create fires because they have no residual heat. “It’s a gas compression fire, not a flame, land mine, Napalm fire,” he said. Shooting into rocks is more likely to create a spark that could ignite a wildfire, he added.

Hilderbrand said he has sold the Tannerite exploding targets at his store for the last four years, and they are extremely popular.

Tannerite’s website said when mixed and use correctly, the targets do not initiate a fire.

“However, because of patent infringers making targets with incendiary additives, the USFS has declared that all exploding rifle targets are forbidden on federal land when a Special Fire Order is in place,” the website says.

Mueller said the cause of the fire is still preliminary, but noted that in other cases, people who have not followed rules of a burn ban have been liable for the suppression costs, loss of timber and regeneration costs.

“The message is, ‘Gosh folks, it’s still dry out there. Nothing’s changed. We’ve had no precipitation. The only thing that’s different is we have a shorter burn period — less daylight,’ ” he said.

Despite cooler weather, the fire danger is still high, especially for October, fire officials say. And rain that was initially forecast for Friday may not materialize, Mueller said.

Source:
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/oct/09/exploding-targets-set-off-fire/