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Good point about lighting - darkness can be your friend - ESPECIALLY in your own place.

If you use a flashlight, find a light with a bump switch on the back, I have a Streamlight Strion I use for clearing/searching buildings, I hold it between my Left Middle and Ring fingers and activate it with the heel of my hand, almost like a syringe. When you use a light to move use it in pulses, maybe a blip once a second or so, this is disorienting and masks your position. When you are "slicing the pie" of a dark room with a light, paint it with the light bottom to top. This way if there is a threat in the room, he will be visible as soon as you hit the light on the ground.

The Strion I use has a strobe so if I have decided to enter a room, you activate the strobe as you enter in. I can tell you from role playing an "intruder" during bldg search training that it has hard to figure out up from down when someone hits you with that strobe.

Next time you hear something like that and you don't have the proper training, or feel comfortable - there is no harm in calling the police. We are actually here to things just like that. I will tell you from the short time I've been on the job that many of the intruder calls are unfounded, but we don't mind clearing your home for you so you can sleep better that night. I would want someone to do the same for my girlfriend and her you 4 yo that live an hour and a half away.


I will say this - the best building searching I've seen is when they hide a guy in a building in a bite-suit and send the K-9 in for him. It is pure Awesome.

Glad it turned out ok. I highly recommend getting some good training on building searching tactics - I know there are instructors out there that will teach these skills to civilians. Get a good grasp of concepts such as slicing the pie and getting out of the fatal funnels. Also crossing and communication play in here too.

You may already know these things so I don't want to sound as though I'm talking down to you. Good Luck!