Cleared the house this morning

[TLynnHughes]

I think it all depends on the layout of the house, the couple and their particular living situation. I'm less likely to shoot my husband if I'm with him. But then, we don't have any young 'uns to worry about, either.

And there's something about sitting in a room after hearing a noise and waiting who knows how long for police to show up that I just can't do.

Tracy

[MoJo]

XtremeDuty.45,

My DW wants to know lights off or on?

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

I always leave the lower level bathroom and living room light on. They are on opposite ends of the house. The upstairs lights are off. This way I can see down but they cant see up. This also allows me to see shadows so I know what side the BG is on.

We also have pictures on one side of our stairwell which by total accident work well to my benefit. If I were to ever have to clear the house the light in the living room reflects off the glass in the frames and I can see the living room in the reflection of the glass while I keep my eye on the kitchen side. This allows me to look/clear two places at once.

[gigag04]

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.

[jimlongley]

I 1985 my late wife and I bought a new house, that had been the builder's office, but not for very long, we put a binder on it before it as finished and he only used it as an office while he was finishing it and trying to talk us into letting him build a different one for us. His secretary was not supposed to sell that house, he claimed he was just building it as a model, but she, also a licensed realtor, took the binder and signed the paperwork with us.

Shortly after we moved in we discovered the first of several problems that occurred due to shortcuts the builder took after we bought the house out from under him, and we had to do battle, all the way up to small claims court, to get each of them fixed. The judge and I were on a first name basis after a couple of years.

Anyway, the point of this is, my wife thought, a couple of times, that someone had been in the house, and shortly after winning the first court case I happened to be home, actually waiting for a call from the builder so he could come by and fix the problem as the judge told him to, and he unlocked the front door and walked in.

He almost got shot.

The locks got changed.

A couple of weeks later we were back in front of the judge fr something else he was dragging his feet at fixing, and he actually had the gall to complain that I had changed the locks. He stated that he was "the landlord" and "the mortgage holder" and this gave him the right to enter whenever he wanted. He also complained about my "pulling a gun" on him. The judge accepted my word that I was not renting and that he did not hold the mortgage and ordered him not to enter my property without my permission, and then only to repair the problems that I was finding.

[C-dub]

For those that haven't yet, ya'll are gonna hate to hear about this. There's a thing called a "bump key."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_bumping" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[goinincircles]

Outstanding post, Random!
One of the things we have been talking about is taking a couples tactical firearms course of some kind.
TLynn

Love to find one of those within range (so to speak) of DFW

Can't speak to the quality of their tactical classes since that is one of those things that is still on my "to do" list but I've been to a couple of their chl renewal classes and they are top notch in that aspect. Much better than my original instructor. They are both LEO and very knowledgeable and can even make a chl class somewhat entertaining and that takes some talent. I'd bet any of the "tactical" classes listed on their website would be not only beneficial but a blast so to speak.
•Defensive handgun Level I, II, III
•Shooting From Concealment & Low Light Shooting
•Defensive Carbine
•Defensive Shotgun
http://www.txconcealedcarry.com/Home_Page.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[randomoutburst]

I think it all depends on the layout of the house, the couple and their particular living situation. I'm less likely to shoot my husband if I'm with him. But then, we don't have any young 'uns to worry about, either.

And there's something about sitting in a room after hearing a noise and waiting who knows how long for police to show up that I just can't do.

Tracy

Couldn't have said it better myself. The layout of our home is easy and fast to clear. If we hadn't felt safe doing it we wouldn't have done it. We would never have tried to clear our old apartment (except the obligatory sweep of the house upon arriving home even if nothing looks out of the ordinary) because there are three different "attack points" straight out of the bedroom door. In fact I remember in the story I posted about being prepared to shoot an "intruder" (hubby) I purposely stayed in the bedroom for tactical reasons since I DID hear footsteps and see light moving.
We weren't worried about shooting anyone who was "supposed" to be there because no one should be there but me and hubby. His parents have a key but never, EVER come over without calling first and then knocking and announcing themselves. They know we have guns and are aware they are at risk of being shot if we don't personally let them in the door.

I appreciate the suggestions to not clear the home if we suspect someone is in the home, but as stated above: if we didn't feel safe doing it, we would have stayed put and called 911. We heard no voices, footsteps, or items being moved, and saw no lights, plus we were both home and armed working together to clear the house.
Our home is over 60 years old. It has a gas water heater right next to the bedroom. If we called 911 for every loud noise at night they would have a squad car over here daily. We would call 911 if we did not feel safe clearing the house ourselves.

[jimlongley]

For those that haven't yet, ya'll are gonna hate to hear about this. There's a thing called a "bump key."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_bumping" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In lots of years as a telephone man, there were very few locks I couldn't get through with a key that just fit in the lock and a rap fom a screwdriver handle. Didn't do it to get into houses and stuff, but apartment complexes that locked up the rooms where the telephone terminals were.

[Kevinf2349]

Good post and some great advice in the follow-ups.

Another part of our 'routine' is for my wife to head for a bathroom changing room and lock the door. Then when everything is OK I shout out our 'safeword' and then, and only then, does she come out of hiding with her 'little friends'.

I second getting a good alarm system too and some good motion sensitive lights outside the home.....and a big dog usually does no harm either and has the added benefit of unconditional love.

[AustinBoy]

All of our home lighting is automated.
If the alarm goes off, ALL of the lights in the house come on.

We have a computer in our bedroom from which I can turn on all lights.

Cameras are coming soon.

DONT go X-10. Take a look at Z-Wave.

If this is interesting at all, take a look at http://www.homeseer.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Browse through the user forum. You will be amazed.

Thanks
Ty

[PeteCamp]

I know some folks have differing opinions, including yourselves, but I have to second the notion that room clearing is for professionals. You may have "felt" safe, but the truth is even SWAT is uneasy at clearing. Especially in the dark. Room clearing is deadly business. It takes team coordination and a lot of training. Even then, the best trained folks sometimes get hurt real bad.

Most trainers I know recommend you don't attempt it. There is one exception. If you have to reach a loved one in another part of the house. So how would you avoid the necessity of clearing? A large protective dog is about the best answer. You can tell a lot about the condition of your house from the demeanor of your dog. Good luck and glad it all turned out OK. Re-key those door locks ASAP.

[randomoutburst]

Re-key those door locks ASAP.

They were re-keyed before we moved in. My in-laws own the home and we're renting from them.

a big dog usually does no harm either and has the added benefit of unconditional love.

We plan on getting two German Shepherds once we're done with college but right now we don't have the time for a pet and it's really not fair to the pet. Plus we want to be able to pay for professional training so they aren't just "lap dogs". And gosh, those student loans...;)

We probably won't install a security system since we probably won't even be in this house two years from now and don't benefit from its added value to the home since we are renting. I know, you can't put a price on safety or something like that...but you can. The camera system (which we can take with us when we move), good locks, perhaps door bars on the bedroom doors, a working phone, and our guns seem to give us more than a fighting chance without the cost of a security system. Plus we are in a very safe part of town with watchful neighbors so daytime intrusions aren't much of a concern either. I think we'll be okay. Last night's events were certainly confusing but I don't think we're at a large risk. That doesn't mean we think we're safe and can't be touched, but we're realistic about the likelihood of a possible break-in. We're more likely to get mugged walking to class than an intruder invade our home - statistically speaking based on crime rates over recent years, of course.

[tekarra]

Excellent post. I think we can benefit from your experience, and be thankful that it ended safely.

[texas1234]

Random, get an alarm system if you can. I am very glad you guys have a plan of action, but every single opening to our house is wired and we set it without fail. While we are sleeping we have only one door that could be opened on a timer, any other door or window opens and the whistle blows instantly. We set the timed door to 10 seconds.

My alarm system is my first line of defense while sleeping. It costs us $40 bucks a month and we have a cell phone back up if they cut the phone lines.

I dont have an alarm system for police response, I have an alarm system so i can take care of the problem while knowing the police have already been called.

Your situation is a scary scenario.