The past week has brought wintery conditions to Houston. Our city has been abnormally cold for the first 10 days in December. We’ve started our heaters, whether they are central heat or space heaters.

Home security includes protecting those inside your house from all sorts of hazards. The most common winter hazards are home fires and carbon monoxide poisoning. You might think that you are safe if you have a monitored home alarm system. In event of a fire or other hazard, you know that your system will send a warning to the monitoring center whether you are home or not. From there, the appropriate authorities are alerted that something is going wrong at your residence.

Winter Home Security Protection

You probably feel safe if you have a monitored home security system, but have you checked the batteries in your fire and carbon monoxide detectors recently?  Unless your detectors are hardwired into your electrical system, those detectors use batteries. And unless the batteries are less than 6 months old, they may not work.

Most home fires and poisonings happen in Houston homes that do not have any form of fire or noxious gas sensing equipment.

Winter Fires

Malfunctioning heaters and winter decorations are a common fire hazard. In fact, heaters and Christmas trees are the major sources of Houston fires during December and early January. Your home security plan should include heat detectors that prevent a disaster from spoiling your holiday season.

Fire detectors are inexpensive and easy to install. There are many types of smoke detectors to choose from. At a minimum, you should locate the sensing units where fires are most likely to break out. If you are using a space heater for any reason, make sure that you locate it away from materials that catch fire easily such as draperies, couches, and overstuffed chairs and pillows.

Winter Carbon Monoxide

Heaters, both central heating and floor units, are notorious carbon monoxide producers. Unless you are meticulous in maintaining the heating unit, it’s likely that your heater is producing the noxious gas. Carbon monoxide is often called the silent killer because you can’t see it and it doesn’t have an odor. By the time the poisoning symptoms appear, you are nearly unconscious.

Next to fires, it is the second leading cause of heater-related injury.

While more costly than smoke detectors, there are as many types of carbon monoxide detectors as there are budgets. Some detectors are more sensitive than others to carbon monoxide, but many times the expense is necessary when a central heating unit is inspected and maintained each year. If you don’t have central air and heat and use electric or gas floor or space heaters, most commonly found in unrenovated older homes, you might want to invest in the more sensitive carbon monoxide detectors.

If you do not have smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors currently integrated with your home alarm system, now is the time to consider adding this additional security equipment. If you have any questions about which type of fire or carbon monoxide detector is best suited to your home, Houston’s Safeguard Home Security is there to help you choose.