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The Story of the Odd Little Beeping

Kirby

By Kirby
in The Café

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Kirby Flahute

Kirby

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Earlier this afternoon, I started to hear a random beep.  This made me confused.  I noticed it was coming from one of the old smoke alarms in the hallway.  This made me perturbed. These smoke alarms have been in the condo from before I lived here which is over 20 years.  In all that time I've never replaced a battery, so I assumed they were hardwired somehow.  I've tried to take off the top to see if there was a battery, but the top didn't unscrew all the way and I never saw a battery.  They have always confused me.

Anyway the alarm kept beeping every few minutes.  This was making me annoyed.  There was no smoke or any sign of a fire, plus I've put up a new proper smoke alarm which wasn't reacting at all, so i felt reassured.  The annoying beeping continued for over an hour and i was afraid it would continue all weekend. The other old alarm went off once in the middle of the night and eventually stopped, and i was worried this would do that too.  Then I had what seemed like a bright idea. This made me happy.

I called our condo security and asked if they had seen these alarms before.  If they were original issue, they were probably in a lot of condos and beeping at various time.   They said they'd send the fire department, and I assured them that wasn't necessary.  I just wanted to know if they knew this alarm and if there was a battery or something I should do.  They said they'd send a car and then we could take it from there.   This made me feel reassured.

I decided to time how long between the tones so that I could tell them when they came, so I was in the back of the house. I was getting worried because I didn't hear anymore beeps.  This made me confused in a new way.  Yup, there were no more beeps and I felt silly, but at least it was just security coming.  Then I heard a small knock and I wondered why he didn't ring the bell?  when I answer the door, he says on his phone,  "cancel that, the resident is ok"    I guess he thought I'd passed out.  Oops.

So he comes in and checks the alarm.  I assure him it had been beeping but it's stopped now so everything is fine.  He looks at it and says it's hard wired but leaves it hanging slightly askew.  This bothers my compulsive side.  He said he wants to leave it like that until the fire department comes.  Fire department?!!  But everything is ok!!  Don't worry he says, they'll be here any minute.  Right then a big fire truck pulls up and two fire people in full uniform come rushing in.  I assure them it's all good now and apologize profusely.  The nice fire lady and the nice fire men all come in and look at the alarm much like someone would examine a fossil.  This makes me feel very silly  I point out that I had a new alarm too and wasn't counting on the old ones that may or may not have needed batteries. .  The fire people go back in their truck when another guy in street clothes comes in and announces that he is fFre Chief Mike.  Now I feel very silly.  Fire Chief Mike says I should have someone come look at that and then he leaves too.   I felt very silly but also glad that the alarm stopped beeping for no apparent reason.

The End.

 

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Kirby Flahute

Kirby

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46 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

Code in most places requires inter-connected alarms (powered by house AC) have backup batteries.  This is for when you need the alarm but the power is out.

 

This one is so old it's probably before that requirement.  Even the firemen couldn't find a battery.

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Bikeguy Domestique

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7 hours ago, Square Wheels said:

Smoke / CO2 detectors have a short life, maybe 10 years. 

This is what I found when I read the instructions for my smoke/CO detectors.   10 years is the expected 'life' of a detector.

8 hours ago, Kirby said:

I felt very silly but also glad that the alarm stopped beeping for no apparent reason.

Probably because they are dead... and won't work anymore.      I'd change them out for new ones.

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Kirby Flahute

Kirby

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Yes, they were wearing masks, except I don't really recall if Fire Chief Mike was.  I was so surprised to see him come charging in when it was all finished that I don't remember.

Parr8 would have hit the firelady.  :nodhead:

The condo guy was obliging, but not what I'd call hot.  I couldn't tell about the other guy since he was in his full fire gear and had a face mask.  Fire Chief Mike was sort of bossy. 

I was never sure if these worked or not, so I got another one that I have in the hallway with a 10 year battery.

I am very impressed that Petite changed out a hard wired alarm!  :cheerleader:

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Kirby Flahute

Kirby

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UPDATE

I didn't get a good night's sleep on Sunday.  This made me very tired.  So I decided to skip lunch and take a brief nap.  This made me feel a bit devilish.  I set the alarm for 50 minutes but about 20 minutes into the nap I heard beeping.  At first I thought it was my alarm clock but then I realized it was the fire alarm.  This made me feel alarmed. I was also annoyed because I knew if the firemen came again, they'd ask if I'd called an electrician and I hadn't.  This made me a little embarrassed. Then I realized it wasn't my old alarm that was beeping but he new one I had put up because I didn't think the old one worked.  This made me feel a little relieved but also alarmed again.  But I didn't see any fire or smell any smoke, so I just took down the alarm and tried to stop it.  This made me feel a bit reckless.  But I couldn't stop it.  This just made me frustrated.  Eventually I got it to stop and threw it out.  I ordered a new one which I just put up.  It's not beeping at the moment, so that makes me feel relieved.

The End (unless it's not).

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Mr. Silly Domestique

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41 minutes ago, Kirby said:

UPDATE

I didn't get a good night's sleep on Sunday.  This made me very tired.  So I decided to skip lunch and take a brief nap.  This made me feel a bit devilish.  I set the alarm for 50 minutes but about 20 minutes into the nap I heard beeping.  At first I thought it was my alarm clock but then I realized it was the fire alarm.  This made me feel alarmed. I was also annoyed because I knew if the firemen came again, they'd ask if I'd called an electrician and I hadn't.  This made me a little embarrassed. Then I realized it wasn't my old alarm that was beeping but he new one I had put up because I didn't think the old one worked.  This made me feel a little relieved but also alarmed again.  But I didn't see any fire or smell any smoke, so I just took down the alarm and tried to stop it.  This made me feel a bit reckless.  But I couldn't stop it.  This just made me frustrated.  Eventually I got it to stop and threw it out.  I ordered a new one which I just put up.  It's not beeping at the moment, so that makes me feel relieved.

The End (unless it's not).

THis is like one of those monster movies where you think the monster is dead but in the final scene he opens his eyes guaranteeing a sequel.   

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Kirby Flahute

Kirby

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Just now, Mr. Tickle said:

THis is like one of those monster movies where you think the monster is dead but in the final scene he opens his eyes guaranteeing a sequel.   

it's even worse because it was a new alarm - this could go on forever!!!!!!! :runcirclsmiley:

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Kirby Flahute

Kirby

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I was in the bedroom today when I heard a quiet little beeping.  It was quiet for a bit and then about 5 minutes later I'd hear it again.  This made me curious.  At first I thought it was on the tv, but when I replayed the scene on my dvr, I didn't hear the beeping.  This made me frustrated.  Then I had a sinking feeling.  It must be the fire alarms again.  This made me feel bothered.  So I got a step stool and stood near the alarm  I heard the beep again, but it didn't sound like it was coming from the alarm.  This made me confused.  I looked around and couldn't hear where it was coming from.  This made me annoyed.  I finally noticed that my plug in alarm clock was unplugged and when I plugged it in again, the beeping stopped.  This made me feel very relieved.

The End.

For Now.

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Longjohn Flahute

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I was just sitting down to drink my coffee this morning when my smoke alarm beeped and that familiar female voice said “carbon monoxide detected” I went downstairs to check the furnace and the flue pipe had been blown half way off. It’s a wonder the house didn’t fill up with smoke. Evidently the chimney was drawing all the smoke up the chimney with just enough carbon monoxide escaping to get the alarm girl’s attention.

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Airehead Flahute

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10 hours ago, Longjohn said:

I was just sitting down to drink my coffee this morning when my smoke alarm beeped and that familiar female voice said “carbon monoxide detected” I went downstairs to check the furnace and the flue pipe had been blown half way off. It’s a wonder the house didn’t fill up with smoke. Evidently the chimney was drawing all the smoke up the chimney with just enough carbon monoxide escaping to get the alarm girl’s attention.

I am glad you have the detector girl in the basement-- safety first.

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Parr8hed KOM / QOM

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10 hours ago, Kirby said:

Luckily Fire Chief Mike wasn't there to witness my silliness this time.

My dad worked at the Colgate factory for 33+ years.  He was a machinist by trade.  He made parts to keep the toothpaste machines running.  His last 12 or so years he switched to "Plant Protection".  He was in charge of teaching people about fire safety.  He maintained the sprinkler system (which ran off huge pumps down on the river), fire alarms, fire extinguishers, etc. (and probably a lot more crap I didn't know about).   

We met a couple once that the wife worked at Colgate and I asked her if she knew Dad.  She said no.  I was like "He's been there for years.  Everyone knows Bob!  He is change of the fire system...."

She said "Oh, you mean Fire Marshall Bob??"  

LOL, I had never heard my dad called Fire Marshall Bob.  

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