ADT

A life-saving incident in April in Wichita, Kan. underscores the importance of having a monitored fire alarm. It also is a heart-warming story in which an ADT call center operator gets to meet the woman whose life she helped save.

According to Wichita’s KAKE TV, the smoke detectors that ADT had installed in the home of city resident Jerry Malone went off around 5 a.m. on April 23 after lightning struck her home. ADT dispatcher Cherry Smith immediately called Malone from the call center in Irving, Texas where she works, but Malone didn’t believe there was a fire in her house, the TV station said.

Here’s how it reported what happened:
 

"I was in complete denial," Malone said. "I heard the smoke alarm, I knew it was malfunctioning. I knew I did not have a fire."

But after telling Smith to hold the line and stepping into the hallway to survey the situation, Malone realized she had a real emergency.

"My house is on fire," Malone screamed into the phone.

"O.K., hang up the phone and I'm going to call 911 right now. I'm going to call the fire department," Smith said back to her calmly.

Firefighters arrived and saved Malone’s home from being a total loss, the station reported. Malone wasn’t hurt and hopes to move back in by July.

But there’s another part of the story.

Smith, who has worked for ADT for 12 years, had never met any of the many customers she’s helped. But Malone considered Smith as much of a life saver as the firefighters, so ADT arranged for Smith to travel to Wichita so Malone could thank her in person on May 16.

Here’s what happened, according to the station:

Smith handed Malone a bouquet of flowers and then shared with her an emotional embrace.

"Words can not explain to actually meet the person you talked to and know that you are a part of the team that saved her life," Smith said.

For the firefighters on that life-saving team, Malone helped ADT present the Wichita Fire Department with a check for $5,000. Fire Chief Ron Blackwell says it's money the department can use to buy equipment and buy awards for firefighters.

"(The firefighters) will tell you they were just doing their jobs but it's always nice to be recognized," Blackwell said.

And, the firefighters, the men who installed the ADT security system, and dispatcher Cherry Smith are all recognized as heroes by Jerry Malone.

"When others save you, you've got to be grateful," Malone said. "You've got to say, 'Thank you.' You've got to mean it."

Voters in Washington State and Colorado last fall legalized the recreational use of marijuana—and created a new demand for security, with pot warehouses and stores in those states anxious to protect their valuable stash. However, according to a report from CNNMoney this week, the fact that pot sales are still illegal under federal law is creating some security hassles.

Not only is ADT refusing to provide security services to such businesses, citing federal law, but other security companies that do want to partake are finding it hard to get loans from banks, which are experiencing federal pressure, the report said.

That comes amidst a growing demand for security from pot dispensaries and warehouses, the report said. It said they’re targets because a pound of marijuana sells for $2,000 wholesale and—with pot sales illegal under federal law—business owners prefer transactions in cash.

“A robber who swipes the jars on display alone could make away with $20,000 of product, plus whatever stacks of bills are behind the counter,” the report said. As a consequence, it said, “a typical store has more than a dozen cameras, motion detectors, infrared sensors and flood lights. Some even line the ceilings with tripwire to avoid rooftop burglars sawing their way in.”

However, CNNMoney added, “some store owners who use ADT, the nation's largest security provider, say the company has dropped them in recent months.

Sarah Cohn, ADT director of media relations, told me, "ADT has made a policy decision not to sell security services to businesses engaged in the marijuana industry because it is still illegal under federal law."
 
But other security companies are stoked about protecting newly legitimate pot businesses, the report said. “The security needs create an opportunity for startups like Canna Security, a Colorado company currently expanding to Washington,” CNNMoney said.

Canna Security’s founder, Daniel Williams, told CNNMoney that footage from video security cameras shows that robbers targeting pot growers and stores sometimes rely on far-out methods.

He said footage included video of teenagers ramming an Audi through the door of a pot warehouse and a “cat burglar” who cut a hole in a warehouse roof to rappel down to the green loot. The robbers were foiled in both cases.

CNNMoney said the security demand is so great that Williams’ “employees are working 12-hour shifts every day, installing cameras and alarm systems across both states.”

His only problem is that his bank recently denied him a credit line to finance his company’s growth, even though it accepted his cash deposits, the report said.

“It gets frustrating when I get a whole new channel of business and funding isn't there to adjust to it,” Williams told CNNMoney.