Letter - Dock Street cacophony

Twenty years ago we installed a burglar alarm to set off a siren outside the house to frighten off anybody trying to open a door or a window. Ten years ago our insurance agent, who is an old personal friend, came to see us and commented that such devices had never done any of his clients any good. Nobody knows where the noise is coming from and the thieves are in and out before anybody can think of doing something useful. So since then we have ignored the device.

Suddenly the siren went off one evening a few days ago. Not only so but an infernal screeching noise sounded form the service panel inside the house. That is only fair. If the neighbours have to suffer why not the residents? Bernard and Kathy came dashing round from next door to our left and Pat came dashing round from next door to our right. Between us Meg and I are 177 years old so neighbours kindly come to help in times of emergency. Might a screeching siren finish us off ? Apologies to residents within hearing distance of the racket, probably half James Bay.

I had no idea what to do. I am a civil engineer but they did not teach me about burglar alarms; anyway there was a war on. I know the four digit code to disarm the system but the panel is not showing the light it is meant to show if the device is primed. How to disconnect a system that says it is not connected?

Suddenly it occurs to me to disconnect the house electric panel and the siren stops dead but not the screeching. That is very odd. Where is it getting it's power? If there is a battery somewhere it has been going over twenty years. Suddenly the screeching stops too. The noises have stopped but might they restart? I look in the instruction manual and it gives me two telephone numbers to ring. The first lands me in Montreal and we have an unusually useless conversation although I concede a Homo Sapiens is usually better than a device. The second number has been disconnected.

Meanwhile stopping the electricity has also stopped the electric clocks and wrecked my recording instructions for the soccer game I was looking forward to watching.

Nothing untoward has happened since but I live in a state of nervous apprehension.

Anybody who thinks he knows what to do please give a ring at 250 389 1564.

Ted Dew-Jones