Living in a condo has it’s benefits and disadvantages. My husband loves that he doesn’t have to worry about yard work and having to pay to get the roof or water softener fixed if it breaks (although we pay monthly for stuff like that). Personally I HATE living in a condo. Or as I like to call is “a glorified apartment that we have a mortgage for”. Sigh… I’m a “country bumpkin” at heart. I grew up in a house with a lot of property to play on. I didn’t have to worry about the neighbors because most of them were my relatives.
There are several disadvantages that I can think of living in a condo. My number one concern is the neighbors and the things that THEY do that might jeopardize our safety and well being. The couple across the hall almost started a fire a year or so ago when the husband flicked his lit cigarette butt off his balcony and it landed in the mulch around a bush down below. The bush was next to one of our downstairs neighbor’s WOOD balcony. It could have caused a series problem is the fire department didn’t show up.
A few years back an entire building burned to the ground because some idiot put out a cigarette in a flower pot with a dried up planet in it. The irony is that one of the residents of that building was one of our volunteer firemen.
That was the third building in our complex to burn to the ground in the past 30+ years due to resident’s foolish mistakes. This is why I worry every day about what could happen in our building. All it takes is one person to leave their stove on or don’t put out a candle properly and my family’s safety and well being are at risk.
We have fire extinguishers in our home and a safety ladder to use to get off the balcony. We keep grilling our kids on what they should do in case of a fire. A big issue not only with the kids, but also myself, is our pets. If there was a fire my first instinct would be to get my family out as well as make sure all six of our pets made it out too. I told the kids to open the windows and sliding glass door if possible (pushing out or opening the screen if need be) giving our pets a chance to escape. I know if there was a fire they would all run and hide under the beds.
Even the idea of watching our home burn with our beloved pets inside makes me sick to my stomach. I hope and pray we NEVER have to deal with that.
Do YOU have any plans on what to do with your pets if there was ever a fire emergency in your home?
There have been plenty of stories of firemen rescuing pets (when it’s safe to do so). Wouldn’t you want the fire department to be made aware of any pets you might have in hopes of saving their lives?
I have seen decals you can put on your windows that show a picture of a dog and a cat to indicate that you have a pet. But what if you have more then one?
Bo Regards has the solution. They offer lovely wall and/or door plaques that you can display to notify firemen that there are pets in the home. The plaque is big enough for a fireman to see and much more effective then a small decal.
These plaques are made in the USA and measure a generous 8.5″ X 8.5″ and are available in 3 finishes: Burnish Copper, Burnish Brass and Burnish Nickel.
Here is some more information about the plaque from the Boregards website.
Lightweight though durable, the textured design provides a classic vintage aesthetic, making the plaque not only the perfect safety tool, but also an attractive addition to your exterior décor. The plaque is designed to be easily mounted to the inside or outside of a wall or door; it can also be screwed onto the exterior of your home. Installation and mounting instructions will be provided at checkout.
Our product is crafted of highly durable ABS Resin that has been professionally electroplated, antiqued, and finished with a clear lacquer protective coating. This is the same technique used in the automotive, plumbing and aeronautical industries for many years. We are proud to have chosen this process to complete our product making it a work of art.
They really are nice and look real too. We have the Burnish Brass plaque and you couldn’t tell that it was made out of a resin. It looks like real brass.
The plaque comes with screws that you can use to attach it to a wall or door. Since we live in a condo we’re limited to what we can do in the “common area” which would include the front of our condo unit door. Thankfully our door is metal. Instead of mounting ours with screws we used magnets. The magnets were not as strong as they could be so I place the plaque above the peep hole to keep it from sliding down the door. When I have a chance I’ll buy stronger magnets.
I’m sorry for the horrible picture. My camera has been acting up a lot lately. I guess it’s time to replace it. 
The plaque also came with an interesting booklet about fire safety as well as stickers that notify the fire department as to how many pets are inside our home. Without knowing how many they could rescue just one and leave the rest without knowing they exist. You can use the stickers on your door or window. One of them (the larger one) is also a reflector, so it’s sure to catch a fireman’s eye with the light reflects off it.
Ideally I would love to put one of the stickers on our door near the plaque. However we have a wee bit too many pets, if you ask the condo board. I won’t get into the stupid “by-laws” that were written up 35+ years ago.
ANYWAY… placing the sticker on the door is not a wise idea, even though it would be the smart idea to do. So I want to put one on the window and one on the sliding glass door. My dear hubby is not keen on the idea because we spent a small fortune (literally) to replace all our windows and the sliding glass doors. He doesn’t want to mess them up in case we are ever blessed enough to put this place on the market and buy a house. I need to work on him some more because I really want these stickers displayed the let the fire department know how many pets we have so that there is a chance we can save them all.
I really love the plaque and the stickers. It gives me a sense of ease when it comes to my beloved pets. I would also love to add that Bo Regards has outstanding customer service which is so hard to find these days.
Check out some photos of Bo Regards plaques.
Not only does Bo Regards offer these lovely plaques, but they also have a lot of important fire safety information and tips on their website, www.BoRegards.com. Even if you don’t have any pets I would strongly encourage you to check out the site and review the safety tips. Spending just a few minutes reading these important tips could some day save your life or the life of someone that you love.
For more information please visit Bo Regards at the above mentioned link. You can also follow them on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/BoRegardsInc. They are also on Twitter @BoRegardsInc.
Bo Regards has generously offered to give a lucky reader a plaque of their own, in their choice of finish. Thank you Bo Regards.
This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on May 31, 2012 at 12:01 AM (EST). The winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator from all eligible entries. The winner will be notified via e-mail.
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own. Bo Regards will be providing the prize package.
About Kimberly
Cool giveaway
We have the kids go to fire safety workshops to learn on what to do in case of a fire
I love this!! With 5 doggies in the house who are our babies, I would definitely love to have one of these on our house in the antique finish – that would match our doorknob and lock.
When my kids were little, we would also discus fire escape and even practice drills until I caught my kids jumping out of thier 2nd floor window into the backyard as a practice. =)
I like the burnished brass finish. There is only myself and my husband in the house with 2 cats and a small dog. We have it planned that in case of fire, my husband grabs our two cats and I grab the dog. We then meet outside near a large pine tree.
That is such a wonderful product. Pets are such an important part of our lives—they make us laugh, take walks, snuggle close to us, etc., that I would hate to think that a loving pet would be left to die in a fire. I give kudos to Bo Regards for making a product that may save our pet’s life.
i’d like to win for my cats and dogs. we have fire alarms in our house, and we keep the battery regularly changed.
We’d love the brass finish! We have 3 Dobermans and it’s just my husband and me. In case of fire, I grab the smaller one and he grabs the two larger ones and we meet on the street in front of our house.
I’d choose the burnished brass. We talk about our escape routes just in case – probably yearly.
I would choose the barnished brass. We have a fire safety plan as well as fire detectors with good working batteries
The Burnished Nickel is my favorite!
We have two working fire alarms, plus charged fire extinguishers!
brass
forgot to add: smoke alarms
I like the Burnished Brass. We have smoke detectors with fresh batteries.
I would choose the Burnished Brass.
Our family has a fire escape plan and we practice it on a regular basis.
Thanks for the great giveaway opportunity. ~Pauline
I like the Burnished Nickel. Our family has smoke detectors set up in each bedroom and one in each hallway of both floors. Thanks for the giveaway!
we have a smoke detector
I like the Brass finish. We have a plan on how to get everybody out. Also, we have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.
2dogs5catscrew@att.net
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2dogs5catscrew@att.net
I would like the Burnished Nickel I think. We have a professional fire alarm put in plus we practice fire alarms.
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I love the bronze and I haven’t done anything, its just my husband, my little dog and me and the thought of there being a fire at my home and my dog is here by herself terrifies me
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