Alarm monitoring call centre staff praised (News piece for The Herald)

Words originally for Plymouth daily newspaper The Herald, completed on a week of work experience in December, yet to be published.

A PLYMOUTH based alarm monitoring company has been praised for helping to save the life of an elderly lady after she fell in her garden in Essex.

Staff in the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) at Securi-Guard, which is based in Estover and employs over 200 people, were alerted on the evening of September 6 when 89-year old Eileen Rhodes pressed the emergency help button that she carries with her, after being unable to get up in her garden in Brentwood, Essex.

After receiving the alert, the staff in Plymouth swiftly contacted BB Alarms, a company local to Essex who Securi-Guard monitor calls for, after being unable to make contact with Eileen.

Incredibly, the staff member that they got through to at BB Alarms was Selwyn Rhodes, Eileen’s son.

Selwyn, aged 58 and also of Brentwood, Essex, set up the alarm installation company in 1995, described what happened and declared his huge thanks to the staff in Plymouth.

He said: “Following the call I rushed around to my mother’s house and found she had fallen in the garden and broken her right arm.

“Without the alert she would almost certainly have not survived the night as she was unable to get up. I cannot thank the operators enough as I am in no doubt they saved her life.”
After a short stint in hospital, Eileen is now home recovering.

ARC Manager at Securi-Guard Mary Campbell was delighted that staff had responded so efficiently. She said: “Staff in the ARC are trained to the highest possible standard and it is always good to hear when an emergency like this has a happy ending. Everybody involved in the incident appreciated Selwyn’s note of thanks.”