topic Rude Awakening in Community Chat

Rude Awakening

Pezzie — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 15:51:10 GMT

I had a hard time dropping off last night, but eventually did sometime around 1, only to be jerked awake around 2, hearing this voice saying FIRE, FIRE! and then nothing! WTH! Didn't even know the smoke alarm had audio capabilities.

DH and I stumbled out of bed, adrenaline pumping, sniffing to see if we could smell anything burning, and walked around doing a thorough investigation. Nothing. Then we noticed that the smoke alarm in the guest room was flashing red. DH checked it this morning and he believes the unit has gone bad.

Needless to say, we were both so wound up we never went back to sleep. I feel a nap is in order!

Re: Rude Awakening

KingstonsMom — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 15:53:52 GMT

@Pezzie

So glad it was a false alarm, maybe check the batteries in the unit, ours starts 'chirping' when the batteries are low.

And enjoy your nap!

Re: Rude Awakening

Solar Is My Name — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 15:54:44 GMT

WOW!! That's scary. I keep trying to remember to change all my alarms' batteries 2x a year when we change time in the spring and fall.

Hopw you get a good sleep tonight!

-Solar1

Re: Rude Awakening

Spurt — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:02:20 GMT

@Pezzie wrote:
I had a hard time dropping off last night, but eventually did sometime around 1, only to be jerked awake around 2, hearing this voice saying FIRE, FIRE! and then nothing! WTH! Didn't even know the smoke alarm had audio capabilities.
DH and I stumbled out of bed, adrenaline pumping, sniffing to see if we could smell anything burning, and walked around doing a thorough investigation. Nothing. Then we noticed that the smoke alarm in the guest room was flashing red. DH checked it this morning and he believes the unit has gone bad.

Needless to say, we were both so wound up we never went back to sleep. I feel a nap is in order!

@Pezzie

Sorry you went through that ...what a scary experience....

Is it an older wired in alarm, or strictly battery operated?????? If its wired Id have an electrician check it out there could be a short in the wiring....Or it could be the following:

If the alarm goes off and no smoke is present, the cause may be one of the following: There may be insufficient battery power, try new batteries. Problems with the sensors. Problems with voltage or insufficient electrical power, or a buildup of dust could also be a cause.

Re: Rude Awakening

CrazyKittyLvr2 — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 15:55:12 GMT

@Pezzie I didn't know ours had a disembodied voice either until it happened while we were watching TV.

It sure gets you moving. It was nothing and I have no idea of why it went off.

Re: Rude Awakening

hennypenny — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 15:55:21 GMT

That must have been terrifying!

We got a call in the middle of the night last week. Never a good thing.

Turned out to be a robo call. It took a long time for the heart pounding to stop.

Re: Rude Awakening

SandySparkles — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 15:58:05 GMT

😲 I'm so happy there was no actual fire, and have a feeling those batteries are being replaced ASAP!😊

~~~All we need is LOVE💖

Re: Rude Awakening

Pezzie — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:01:56 GMT

@KingstonsMom

That was the first thing DH did, was put in new battery, and it is still wonky.

Going to buy another unit today - after a nap!

Re: Rude Awakening

SXMGirl — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:06:01 GMT

@Pezzie Thankfully, everything is ok. I cannot imagine waking up to that. Spend time today just relaxing.

Re: Rude Awakening

Pezzie — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:06:04 GMT

@hennypenny

Calls in the middle of the night is never good.

Glad yours was just a robo call !

Re: Rude Awakening

Pezzie — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:12:34 GMT

@Spurt

Alarm is two years old, hard wired with back up battery. Unit has 5 year warranty. DH has been on hold forever with the company, and is about to hang up. Patience is not one of his virtues! Lol

He did put in a new battery and cleaned the contacts etc, and it's still acting up, that's why he thinks the unit has gone bad.

At least if it was going to go bad, it could have waited till middle of the day, and not at 2a.m. ! Murphy's Law!

Re: Rude Awakening

ValuSkr — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:24:45 GMT

@Pezzie I've had two nuisance alarms in the last two weeks - both in the afternoon, thankfully - and I think it was due to humidity in the house. I have central air but hardly use it, as I worry about the electric bill. This stretch of hot and humid weather in southeast PA is unprecedented, in my memory at least. I hope August brings cooler and dryer air.

ETA: My smoke detectors are also hard-wired with battery backup. The batteries are just under a year old, so I will replace them, though I don't think that's what the problem is. Kidde's website does say that humidity can cause a fales alarm. Great ...

Re: Rude Awakening

sunshine45 — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:26:48 GMT

i really do hate the hardwired smoke detectors.

we had some installed in an addition that we added onto our home.

i have since removed them and just put in battery operated devices.

they are so much easier to take care of and i just dispose of them when they get too old.

Re: Rude Awakening

Spurt — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 17:10:29 GMT

@Pezzie wrote:
@Spurt
Alarm is two years old, hard wired with back up battery. Unit has 5 year warranty. DH has been on hold forever with the company, and is about to hang up. Patience is not one of his virtues! Lol

He did put in a new battery and cleaned the contacts etc, and it's still acting up, that's why he thinks the unit has gone bad.

At least if it was going to go bad, it could have waited till middle of the day, and not at 2a.m. ! Murphy's Law!

@Pezzie

Hi,

Well I wish you luck with your husband getting through to talk to someone. I have both hard wired and strictly battery smoke detectors.... I didnt even realize the hard wired one also had a battery until it began CHIRPING in the middle of the night---LOL!!! My cousin, an electrician, helped me out with that....

Re: Rude Awakening

Lucky Charm — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 17:18:08 GMT

Ours sounds the alarm and also says fire (very loudly). So you didn't have the alarm go off also?

Re: Rude Awakening

Mominohio — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 17:25:29 GMT

That would scare you on two levels! The fact there might be a fire, and the voice you never knew existed. I never heard that fire alarms had voice warning. Kind of creepy, but I guess if it works to get people awake, it's not a bad thing. I would have gone crazy thinking someone was in the house!

Hope your heart rate has settled!

Re: Rude Awakening

Tinkrbl44 — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 17:35:11 GMT

@KingstonsMom wrote:
@Pezzie

So glad it was a false alarm, maybe check the batteries in the unit, ours starts 'chirping' when the batteries are low.

And enjoy your nap!

@KingstonsMom

I have a CO2 detector that started chirping, and so I replaced the batteries with fresh ones. Well, it's still chirping, and tried a few things, including another set of batteries. lt's still chirping when put back in.

I have no idea what to do next.

Re: Rude Awakening

Jackyl — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 18:47:23 GMT

That has happened to me too and my smoke detectors are hard wired into the electrical of the house. Batteries are only in it for a backup. That happened to me a few times, so I had one of them replaced. I can say that does suck, so I feel for you and your bad night.

Re: Rude Awakening

Laura14 — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 18:54:10 GMT

Wow, my fingernails would still be in the ceiling and a fireman would have had to coax me down.

So sorry that happened! Glad it's getting resolved. It must be in the air. We had two false alarms this morning at work.

Re: Rude Awakening

Still Raining — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 22:51:32 GMT

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

I have a CO2 detector that started chirping, and so I replaced the batteries with fresh ones. Well, it's still chirping, and tried a few things, including another set of batteries. lt's still chirping when put back in.

I have no idea what to do next.

Mine did that and then I realized they were about 7 years and that is about when they die forever.

If you take them down there should be a date on the back.

I have 4 of those little devils to order now. Amazon here I come.