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alarm" may actually be semantically incorrect in some uses. For example, a residential burglar alarm could easily be triggered by the residents of a home accidentally. The alarm is not necessarily false – it was triggered by the expected event – but it is "false" in the sense that the police should not be alerted. Due to this problem, false alarms can also be referred to as "nuisance alarms."
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Windows and doors that are not fully closed can cause the alarm contacts to be misaligned which can result in a false alarm. In addition, if a door or window is left slightly ajar, wind may be able to blow them open which will also cause a false alarm. To prevent this from happening, door and windows
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explains that there are many negative effects of false alarms, such as "fear, havoc, disruptions to emergency services, and wasted resources." Health and safety can also be affected, as they can cause anxiety and encourage people to race toward an alarm or away from it, which can result in accidents
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The term "false alarm" refers to alarm systems in many different applications being triggered by something other than the expected trigger-event. Examples of this those applications include residential burglar alarms, smoke detectors, industrial alarms, and signal detection theory. The term "false
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The term "false alarm" is actually a misnomer, and is regularly replaced by the term "nuisance alarm". When a sensor operates, it is hardly false, and it is usually a true indication of the present state of the sensor. A more appropriate term is nuisance, indicating that the alarm activation is
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This is typically caused by simple mistakes like entering the wrong passcode or letting too much time pass before entering the code. These types of false alarms can be prevented by taking more time to disarm systems, and entering a home with at least one hand free to properly disarm one's system.
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A home burglar alarm may accidentally activate due to power issues. These issues can be caused by weak batteries, an inconsistent power source (like voltage drops or current rises), or a power outage where a backup power method is either absent or weakened. Preventing this type of false alarm is
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Residential burglar alarms can be caused by improper arming and disarming of the system, power outages and weak batteries, wandering pets, and unsecured doors and windows. In the U.S. false alarms cost police agencies up 6.5 million personnel hours, according to the
International Association of
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cigarettes, cooking at high temperatures, burning baked goods, blowing out large numbers of birthday candles, fireplaces and woodburners when used around a smoke detector can all be causes of these false alarms. Additionally, steam can trigger an ionization smoke detector that is too sensitive,
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Untrained users can be anyone who may need to temporarily access one's home but is unfamiliar with one's system. Common untrained users include cleaning crews, repairmen, dog walkers, or babysitters. Better educating temporary users about a particular system can prevent them from accidentally
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Chiefs of Police. A 2002 study by the U.S. Justice
Department estimated the cost of false alarms to be as high as $ 1.5 billion. Due to this cost, many cities now require permits for burglar alarms, have enacted verified response protocols, or have introduced fines for excessive false alarms.
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Some motion sensors will be triggered by pets moving around a home. This problem can be fixed by finding motion detectors that are not sensitive to infrared signatures belonging to anything less than eighty pounds, or by restricting the access of pets to rooms with motion detectors.
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was caused when the Soviet Air
Defense Forces' early warning system erroneously detected inbound missiles from the United States, when in reality it was a misreading caused by a specific alignment of sunlight on high-altitude clouds. The lieutenant colonel,
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Likewise, after too many audible car alarms are found false, most people no longer pay attention to see whether someone is stealing a vehicle, so even certain experienced thieves may confess that these alarms would not deter them from stealing vehicles.
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and to start ignoring most alarms, knowing that each time it will probably be false. Intentionally falsely activating alarms in businesses and schools can lead to serious disciplinary actions, and criminal penalties such as fines and jail time.
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content that can usually safely be eliminated, or one that could be valid but is triggered by a faulty instrument. Both types are problematic because of the "cry wolf" effect described above.
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False alarms are also common with smoke detectors and building fire alarm systems. They occur when smoke detectors are triggered by smoke that is not a result of a dangerous fire.
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on
January 13, 2018 was triggered by an accidental emergency message being sent out to those in the state warning of an incoming ballistic missile.
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false fire alarms, which were a frequent occurrence. The fire and evacuation resulted in the deaths of 3 students and more than 50 injuries.
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being set off by spiders. (A spider crawling on a web in front of the motion detector appears very large to the motion detector.)
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False alarms could also refer to situations where one becomes startled about something that is later determined to be untrue.
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433:(2018). "'Ballistic Missile Threat Inbound ... This is Not a Drill': The Formidable Threat of False Alarms".
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Sampson, Rana; United States
Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (2007).
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usually achieved by changing the main and backup batteries and/or improving reliability of a power source.
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In the United States, between 94% and 98% of all burglar alarm activations are falsely triggered.
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inconvenient, annoying, or vexatious. A prime example of this difference is
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643:"Alarmingly Useless: The Case for Banning Car Alarms in New York City"
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493:"False Alarms: Keep Your Pet From Triggering Your Burglar Alarm"
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524:"The 6 Most Common Causes of False Alarms"
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441:(3). Committee for Skeptical Inquiry: 5.
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25:False Alarm
685:Categories
602:2021-01-13
536:2021-01-12
417:References
230:March 2016
222:Wikivoyage
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