Gone South for the Season

Problem:

Hiram and Ilda from Westport enjoy their Connecticut home—but only for 7 seven months of the year. The rest of the time they can be found on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Their enjoyment in Florida is contingent upon knowing that their home in Westport is safe and secure.

The first year of their retirement they asked their oldest son to look after their Westport home—he lived in Greenwich and it wasn’t always convenient for him to drive to Westport to check on his parent’s home.
Next year, the homeowner hired Metroguard to provide their Housewatch Service. What follows is an actual account from a Metroguard Officer:

“One evening in January at approximately 8:30 PM I was dispatched by our office to respond to a burglar alarm. The alarm received was for interior motion in the 2nd floor hallway. Upon arrival, I met with the Westport Police who had just finished an exterior check of the building. The officer stated there were no signs of forced entry or tampering and they were about to leave the scene.”

Solution:

“Having keys and alarm codes to the home I entered and began searching the premise. All seemed to be secure until I reached the second floor hallway. A 4 foot by 10 foot section of the ceiling had collapsed due to a roof leak. Rainwater was entering the house. After removing several expensive carpets from the immediate area I contained much of the rainwater with tarps and pails. I then contacted the Homeowner who had just started their winter vacation in Florida. They asked Metroguard to contact and meet with their pre-approved contractor.

To the Country for the Weekend

Problem:

When Robert G., who lives in NYC, started a family he soon realized that he was going to need a second home in the country. He purchased that home in Fairfield County. His wife though it was a great idea but worried about:

• spending time alone in the country while Robert worked in the city
• someone to look after the house during the extended periods the family spent in the city

Robert hired Metroguard to provide Housewatch Service. The following is an account from a Metroguard Security Officer:

“At the beginning of my shift I received a dispatch to a residence in Fairfield, CT. The call came in as “multiple interior motions.” Upon arrival I met the Fairfield Police as they were about to leave the scene. The Officer stated everything was secure and asked if I would like him to check the interior with me.”

“As we entered the home and disarmed the alarm system we were able to track movement through the home by viewing the order in which the zones were tripped. We began searching the second floor and found a window broken which was not visible from the exterior check. After searching the home we located the suspect hiding under a car, wrapped in a tarp. He was waiting for the police to leave the scene so he could leave with our client’s valuables.”

Solution:

Fortunately, Metroguard’s ability to enter the home, escort the police inside to conduct a more thorough search resulted in the apprehension of the suspect and prevention of loss to Robert and his family.

Uninvited Guest

Problem:

“Late in August I was dispatched for a residential burglar alarm. Upon arrival I met with the Greenwich police and performed an exterior check of the residence. Finding no signs of forced entry, we entered the home. Seeing furniture and paintings toppled on the floor, we thought this was a real break in. After searching another room though, we found a squirrel had gotten in through the fireplace and was causing damage trying to get back out.”

Solution:

After contacting the home owner, we called the municipal animal control officer who arrived on the scene and removed the squirrel. Damage to the homeowner’s property was minimized.

Boy, it’s cold inside.

Problem:

In January of last year, Metroguard was dispatched to the home of a client spending the winter in Florida. The dispatch was based on a low temperature alarm from the residence. Upon arrival, the Metroguard security officer was unable to get the oil boiler to operate. Since the interior temperature of the house was rapidly dropping, and a real danger of the plumbing system freezing existed, he called the client’s oil burner service company for emergency service. The service man found that the oil burner nozzle had clogged with oil tank sediment which had been disturbed when the oil tank had been filled that very afternoon.

Solution:

Heat was restored to the residence and a potentially catastrophic freeze up of the client’s home was averted.

Following are actual accounts by Metroguard Officers securing commercial properties:

“While on patrol in my sector I received a Security Alarm from one of our commercial customers. Being right around the corner I responded in less than a minute. As I approached the building I observed a dark colored station wagon parked in front of the premises. Two occupants were sitting in the vehicle and I observed two other males run from the building and hop into the vehicle. When they saw me move toward them they sped off at high speed through the narrow streets of the town. Being familiar with the local streets I knew they could not go far without encountering busy intersections and sharp curves. I returned to our marked patrol vehicle and followed them only far enough to get the license plate number and good description of all the occupants.”

“Upon returning to the premises I observed an obvious break-in and secured the premises until the local police arrived. Together we cleared the building with the canine unit and broadcast an APB (All Points Bulletin) to other surrounding towns. Shortly thereafter, another local jurisdiction stopped a similar vehicle and called in for a positive identification of the subjects, who were indeed the same ones observed leaving the premises and also had burglar tools in their possession. Due to our quick response and detailed description of the subjects they were apprehended and convicted.”

Another Break-In Thwarted

“In one of our local business districts there is a contractor supply house that specializes in wholesale contractor tools and equipment.”

“One night while patrolling the area I observed a rather beat up pickup truck circling the block and stopping frequently to “check” his tires. Having had numerous break-ins in this area I parked my patrol vehicle in an unobservable location and waited to see just what might happen. Sure enough, when he thought the coast was clear he parked the vehicle, checked his tires again and then jumped a chain link fence, intent upon entering one our customer’s locations. I called for local PD assistance but they were occupied with other activities across town. I then proceeded to make my presence known and the suspect departed the area quickly.

“When the local police arrived I provided them with a description and license plate number of the suspect. Police subsequently visited his home, with a warrant, and discovered a house full of contractor tools he had previously stolen from other non-Metroguard protected buildings in the area.”