Homeowner meets ADT dispatcher who helped her during home invasion
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston homeowner who credits her alarm service for saving her life, got to meet the dispatcher who helped her during a home invasion.
Suzanne Smith said on Memorial Day, her alarm company, ADT, notified her an alarm went off.
Smith told the operator she heard a woman in the house.
"I am in the bedroom holding the door shut," Smith told the operator.
"You're in the bedroom?" the ADT employee asked.
"And they turned the light on in my bedroom," Smith told the operator.
The ADT employee notified police.
After hiding in the bathroom, Smith decided to fight back against the intruder.
Her actions surprised the suspect, who screamed and Smith said the intruder appeared confused.
Moments later the police arrived, and the suspect was arrested.
On Wednesday, the ADT agent, based out of Rochester, New York, got to meet Smith.
"It puts a face to customer and what we're doing every day, and you don't always get to meet the customer," ADT emergency dispatcher Stacey Fioravanti said. "You don't always know the results of us dispatching the police."
The company awarded Fioravanti with a lifesaver award.
It also donated $10,000 to the Texas Association of First Responders for getting to Smith quickly.
While fighting her intruder worked, the Houston Police Association doesn't recommend it.
"The best thing you can do is get behind a secure door, lock it, and make sure you call the police," Houston Police Officers Union President Joe Gamaldi said. "Try to talk in hush-tones and just wait for us to get there. Believe me, we're coming."
Smith says she doesn't regret fighting back.
"I can't think of anything else that I would've done," Smith said.
ADT said it service starts at $100 to get it, plus $30 a month.
