By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — A Trussville business owner recently won a major award at a national convention.
Joe Bailey, who owns and operates Advance Video and Security on U.S. Highway 11, was awarded the LifeSaver Award at the annual conference of the ADT Authorized Dealer program in Austin, Texas.
The award was presented to him by ADT Vice President of Dealer Business Jim Vogel.
Joe Bailey, second from left, receives the ADT LifeSaver Award in Austin, Texas.
submitted photo
The award was in connection with helping to save the life of a Homewood family that experienced severe carbon monoxide in their home in September, but survived because their home was outfitted with an ADT security system sold and installed by Bailey.
On the night of Sept. 14, Sara Dungan and her two daughters, Tate and Emma, were preparing to go to bed when the home’s carbon monoxide detector activated.
Several hundred miles away at the Irving, Texas Customer Monitoring Center, ADT dispatcher LaTonza Gatson received the signal and phoned first responders. She then called the home and advised everyone to get outside until firefighters arrived.
When firefighters entered the home, they put on gas masks and used portable meters. Their readings showed carbon monoxide levels at nearly 10 times the normal amount. The source was a gas range in the kitchen. It took nearly an hour for the carbon monoxide to be cleared from the home.
Dungan believes she and her daughters would have gone to bed and not woken up had it not been for the detector. Bailey sold and installed the security system in Dungan’s home in 2002.
Since the incident, Dungan has become an advocate while warning friends and family about the danger of carbon monoxide, which peaks in the winter months as more homeowners use their fireplaces, furnaces and portable generators.
On Nov. 10, Dungan got to meet Gatson at the annual conference in Austin, Texas. Gatson also received a LifeSaver Award. Also recognized were first responders from Homewood. Vogel presented a $5,000 grant to the fire department. Accepting was Lt. Scott McCombs, who said the funds will be used to educate the public about the dangers of carbon monoxide.
Bailey has been an ADT authorized dealer since 1996 and ranks in the top 30 of all dealers.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
