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Dangers of CO Poisoning
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CO poisonings usually occur in winter months. This spot helps explain the risks of this deadly gas.
Electronic Security - Reducing Falsing Alarms
Police respond to millions of calls to alarm systems where no crime or attempted crime has been committed. Studies have shown that more than 75% of these calls are due to user error. The most common errors occur when the alarm is being turned on. The proper procedure to follow is:
 Verify that all occupants are out of the building or are ready to exit with you- Check the alarm keypad and verify that the system is ready to turn on
- If the alarm is not ready to arm, check all doors and windows until the alarm is ready to turn on
- Make certain that everyone who is leaving is ready to exit
- Enter the arming code and have everyone exit
- Close the exit door and lock it
- Wait by the door to make certain that the siren or bell does not go off
- If for any reason you must re-enter the premises, open the door and immediately turn the alarm off
- When you are again ready to exit, repeat the above steps
- MOST IMPORTANT, if the alarm goes off never leave until you have spoken to Per Mar. You must have your password available when Per Mar calls. Failure to have your password available, or giving an incorrect password, may result in the police being dispatched.
Along with the above, it is important to remember these tips to reduce false alarm dispatches:
- The alarm runs on a system battery. The battery should be replaced every three to five years, possibly sooner if frequent power outages have occurred. An outdated or weak battery can cause the alarm to malfunction during bad weather
- Over time doors and windows can warp or become misaligned. This could cause the alarm system to be over sensitive and should be addressed
- Make sure that everyone with access to your home knows how to use the alarm system. Review the procedure with them and make sure they know how to handle a false alarm.
Your alarm is only as effective as you make it, and educating yourself on its use, makes it a very effective crime-fighting tool.
Adapted from Information provided by the Security Industry Alarm Coalition.
Written by Michael Kaplan, General Manager Electronic Security
DHS Issues Warning for BlackBerry Phone Users
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a security warning for a new Blackberry application called PhoneSnoop. DHS officials say that PhoneSnoop could be used to spy on private phone conversations. The application works by someone installing the application in your BlackBerry. Once the application is installed, the person who installs it can remotely trigger the speakerphone. This will turn your phone on so they can listen in on you and the people with whom you are talking. The DHS is advising all Blackberry users to keep their Blackberry on them and not to leave it where somewhere else may have the opportunity to install the applications without their knowledge.
Source: News8.net
Iowa Cat Tests Positive for H1N1 Flu
As state health officials from across the country struggle to vaccinate people from the swine flu, a 13-year-old cat in Iowa recently tested positive for the virus. The cat has been treated at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine and according to Dr. Brett Sponseller who treated the animal, will make a full recovery. "We've known certainly it's possible this could happen," said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson Tom Skinner. "This may be the first instance where we have documentation that transmission has occurred involving cats or dogs." Officials said pet owners should take the same precautions against spreading swine flu to pets as they would with humans. Officials also stressed that there is no evidence that swine flu can be passed from pets to people.
Source: The Quad City Times
United States Fire Loss Clock
Physical Security Briefs: Vehicle Control
 Every single day people will drive onto your property. Much of the time, these people are regular employees who know where to drive and park. Some of the time, however, people driving onto your property, either don’t know where to go, or they shouldn’t be there in the first place. This can cause traffic problems and often times these people, will enter areas they should not. It is a responsibility of security personnel, to identify this issue to help prevent unauthorized access and control authorized access much the same as access control to a building.
Signage
Since most companies have open parking lots, or lots that are not completely fenced and do not have gates for access, other more cost effective methods are needed. This starts with proper signage. If you have properly configured and placed signs, it will be extremely effective in communicating your intent to a driver. When placing signs, there are many things to consider, such as, who will be reading the sign, the location of the sign, the size and type of letters needed, the color, and the wording.
Identification & Registration
Setting up a vehicle identification and registration for vehicles on site, is another method of vehicle control. This could start as a simple database of all authorized vehicles. There are four classes of vehicles to include in your database: employee, delivery, company, and visitor. There may be some other specialty types beyond these four, but this will get you started. For facilities with large employee populations, having a database of authorized vehicles will help identify the owner when major incidents occur, such as, a vehicle that must be towed, to minor issues such as, headlights left on.
Parking Control
Beyond directing people where to go and clearly having vehicles identified, is the actual control of the parking spaces. If possible, you will want to have as many employees park in one or two key locations dependent on size and availability. This will help limit the number of access points into the facility being used. Depending on the needs of your facility, you may consider other security related control measures, such as not allowing parking within 100 feet of the facility or within fifty feet of any fencing. Additionally, this may include adding concrete barriers at the curbs to stop a vehicle from driving up to the building itself. Today this can be done with decorative bollards, benches, planters, etc, that help protect the building from vehicles, while still maintaining an attractive appearance.
There are many more options available that are not covered in this article, such as, having a security officer checkpoint, vehicle inspections, automated access control, shared parking, and visitor parking to name a few. However, these initial tips should get you started on better controlling your parking areas and keeping your employees safe from the outside in.
Look for more physical security briefs in upcoming newsletter issues.
Written by Colin Vick, Physical Security Division
Source: Protection of Assets Manual
Per Mar Security Participates in Student Food Drive
 In the month of October, businesses throughout the Quad Cities participate in the annual Student Food Drive. This charity is a partnership between the business community and area schools and students. All food and proceeds from this charity stay within the local community, benefiting the River Bend Foodbank which serves 22 counties in both Iowa and Illinois. Per Mar has been participating as a sponsor of this event for more than 15 years.
This year employees at the Quad Cities branch office of Per Mar Security and employees at Per Mar Centre worked together to help raise money and collect food for the Student Food Drive. Many events were held over a one month period to have fun while raising money. This included bake sales, employee breakfast and lunch, jeans days and other games. In addition, non-perishable food items were collected at both offices. All told, employees contributed over $6,000 in donations of money or food items.
Written by Mindy Zumdome
Special Events – It’s Busy!
For the most part, early fall mainly consists of football. Much time and planning is devoted to recruitment, training, scheduling and getting staff familiar with facilities and their environments. Security, ushering, ticket sellers, ticket takers, traffic control, parking attendants, consulting – all these components are factored into making a program run seamlessly.
 As early November rolls around, many sports start to cross over and suddenly, multiple sporting events are happening almost simultaneously.
For example, at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s hockey, volleyball, wrestling and soccer all play at this time. Additionally, Camp Randall hosts the State of Wisconsin High School Football Championship games during latter November and the University of Iowa has multiple sports crossing over at this time.
Staff members may work a football game on a given Saturday, then, after the game, report to the Kohl Center to work a hockey game. Or some Event Staff may have worked a soccer game the night before the football game. It is a very fluid coordination. Thank goodness for technology as it allows us to multi task.
It takes a dedicated staff to make this all happen without any major problems. Most importantly are those individuals and members of not-for-profit groups that make up our Special Event staffs all over the Midwest. These folks give up a lot of personal time to help us staff the events with all the manpower required.
Nothing is as fulfilling as hearing the positive comments, fan laughter, good conversation and the lights going down, knowing, once again, we did our jobs professionally. Everybody is going home safely from our venue.
Likewise our Special Event Coordinators, Security Coordinators, HR Specialists, Operation Managers and General Managers devote their expertise to these accounts who depend on us to deliver the trained individuals to make their events enjoyable, safe and rewarding in every way to the fans and patrons.
Special Events – It’s Busy and we would not have it any other way!
Written By: Gene Hoth, Director of Special Events
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