My wife and I sleep in different rooms as neither of us are easy to sleep with and she keeps very odd hours and has been for many years now. So if I hear something at 3AM I can pretty much guarantee it's her as that's normally the time she's up making coffee. Or it's my father, who has been living here for over half a year now and he gets up and grunts and groans his way to the bathroom a few times every night. Or it's my dog, who runs patrols and bounces back and forth between the bedrooms at all hours. However let's say I hear something that raises alarm bells, something outside the norm. Normally I would tell anyone in that situation to arm themselves, stay put and dial 911, but I don't have that option because it could be so many things attributed to people who live here, so now I need to go looking. We have nightlights on the outlets creating runners and enough light to see by, plus there's always a couple lights on in the house as well, so I don't need a flashlight (although there is one attached to the rail of most of my firearms because it's never a bad idea).
So in this scenario, I have to go looking, and dialing 911 on a noise would make zero sense in my particular situation. I have to keep a calm and cool head regardless of what I hear, because chances are high it's just a loved one up and about. I grab the PT1911 I keep bedside (as well as my phone), I keep the safety on (condition 1 for you folks in the know) and I keep it at my side as I start going room to room until I've discovered the source of my red alert. I had this very situation play out for me about a year ago. I heard a crash about 2AM. I'm a pretty light sleeper and can go from sleep to full focus faster than most. I listened for about 10 seconds, things were very quiet afterward so I grabbed my handgun and in short order made my way to the kitchen only to discover it was my wife up earlier than usual and she had knocked something off the counter that shattered all over the floor.
My house would not be a good target, and honestly anyone at pretty much any time looking at the house could tell that. Although the lights are kept low, it's well lit. We have a dog (used to have 2 and will probably be getting another soon), and there are multiple adults roaming about at all hours, plus they never seem to leave except for one or two of them, and that's only for short errands, shopping, or doctor appointments. But you never know, sometimes the fates decree that something very very unlikely and bad is coming your way, and that's largely why I own a firearm in the first place.
