Recently, ADT LLC, a provider of security and automation solutions for homes and businesses and ranked No. 1 on the SDM 100, celebrated one of its LifeSaver events in Fresno, Calif., where ADT customer Katie Anderson shared a powerful story of survival.

Anderson said she believes her life was saved when she activated her home’s two-way voice security system as her estranged boyfriend was attacking her. An ADT operator came on the line and asked if everything was okay. Anderson said no and requested the operator call 911. In the background, the operator could hear a man trying to control the conversation by claiming Anderson was okay. The ADT operator disconnected from the home and called police.

Within minutes, officers were at Anderson’s door but the attacker had fled. Anderson believes the ADT security system scared him off and saved her life.

“I felt the sheer panic that he would kill me,” Anderson said. “He had been abusing me for about 90 minutes…smothering me, holding me down and not allowing any chance of escaping my home while repeatedly threatening to kill me. He had taken my cellphone and keys so I couldn’t call the cops or drive away. The security system was my lifeline.”

The ADT LifeSaver event was held June 8 at Fresno’s Marjaree Mason Center, one of California’s largest domestic violence shelters. Anderson met ADT team members and police officers who played a part in her rescue.

“I am sharing this horrific event in my life to illuminate the issue of domestic violence and to bring other victims forward,” Anderson said. “I am grateful my life was spared.”

As part the event, ADT contributed $5,000 to the Fresno Police Chief’s Foundation and an additional $5,000 to the Marjaree Mason Center.

According to the CDC, 33 percent of California women and 27 percent of California men experience intimate partner physical violence in their lifetimes.