Instead of installing alarm systems I would be responding to them armed and repairing them as needed. At the time I started they had over 3500 alarm subscribers as they where known in Pittsburgh by time I left after 6 months . They where down almost a 1000 customers due to poor service and expensive prices and failure to update there systems . When the mills shut down couple years later and they lost another 1000+ customers the division was sold to Westec now known as Vector Security after I filed a complaint with Holmes Corporation in New York after one of there repairmen caused an alarm of mines to fail at a Foodland Supermarket because they came on site to fix the communicator the store alarm used to send alarm reports to Bethel Park Police receiver they maintained . They came into Pittsburgh to investigate and found things had gotten so bad it was time to sell it off. The crowning moment when they walked in and found another alarm company s receiver Minatronics / Guard Duty being monitored in there central office .Seems the 2 managers who where relatives Jim and John Martin allowed Minatronics to come in set there receiver up and use one of the offices phone lines temporarily after the building they where in was condemned, but they never told corporate they made such an arrangement which the former union Stewart told me about when I ran into him the one day. Westec did not retain him so he started his own company as did several other guys I worked with a couple guys where retained by Westec some retired, the rest I do not know what happened to them never heard from them again the 2 managers one started a security consulting service working with locksmiths and the other went to work for mid regional alarm company. Many of the great older guys I worked with some WWII vets are now well past retirement and most have passed away.
Eventually in late 90's ADT acquired Holmes Protection and the name has all but gone away there are a couple other alarm company's with Holmes in the name one in North Carolina they are not related.
I walked into the offices of Holmes which was located in the old 6th street parking garage next to the old Carlton House Hotel. Filled out the forms showed them my act 235 card and was hired on the spot when they heard I was trained as an electrician.
My first shift I was issued a company 38 special and holster off the rack where weapons where checked in and out each shift. Since I was not yet 21 I was not allowed to own a hand gun I was allowed to carry a company issued gun you turned in after each shift.
I was assigned that night to Bill Hartman a gentleman in his 50's who I would work with for first few nights . Our first alarm run was to Paragon Rubber a large tire distributor in the Strip District where Holmes had many Alarms .
The alarm had activated we meet the police at door and then carefully walked around to see where alarm had tripped and if there had been an actual entry. Since these alarms where all one loop there where no zone boards to find out even where the system tripped . All you could do was walk from point to point till you found it. Some of these buildings like Joesph Horne Company had several alarm panels to break the buildings into sections they where so big.
We found the problem was a pulled out trip wire at a garage door there was no entry .
either a rat pulled it out walking around or it was not set right a frequent problem.
we reset it and went back to office. Before we left we hit the mes room and Bill tells me about a young black man they caught in there one time was hiding in between the lockers in the men's room
despite the fact the police where thru with a dog he was not found till they where ready to leave.
Keep that in mind if you ever come here by your self he said. never saw Bill after I left Holmes still occasionally run into couple of the guys from time to time they have all found other jobs since the where fired by Vector
To be continued.
 |
| A merchant with old Holmes alarm sticker and new vector sticker |
No comments:
Post a Comment