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Post by just PEAchy on Nov 20, 2014 23:08:41 GMT
So, about an hour ago, all the smoke detectors in my house went off. I wasn't cooking, no candles were burning, I didn't smell smoke. I hustled the kids and the dog into the car and called 911. We waited in the street and the fire engine arrives, all this time the detectors are sounding. The firefighters do a walk through, check the attic, etc. and the smoke detectors finally stop while they are checking things out. They ask about the alarm system, which is installed, but we don't have service, we've never even touched it. We are renting this house while we're building, so I don't know much about it. The firefighters think it might be something with the alarm system or the detectors could be going bad. I was feeling kind of foolish, like maybe they thought I was a hysterical woman.  (They gave no indication they thought this way, they were very nice). So could I have some pea reassurance? Did I do the right thing? Has anyone had something like this happen and find out the cause? I will admit, I'm still a little nervous, even though they assured me all was okay. |
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Post by beachbum on Nov 20, 2014 23:26:51 GMT
You did the right thing, just because you can't see or smell smoke does not mean there is not a fire somewhere. Inside the walls, in the attic... it's better to be safe than sorry.
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Post by kkooch on Nov 20, 2014 23:31:36 GMT
You definitely did the right thing. It happened to our next door neighbor a few months ago. Ends up something was wrong with the alarm system. They had to have someone come fix it. Like beachbum said, I would be worried it was the wiring in the walls or something.
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Post by gavinsmom on Nov 20, 2014 23:32:44 GMT
I would have investigated myself before calling the fire department...but that's me
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Post by cadoodlebug on Nov 20, 2014 23:34:28 GMT
You hadn't just turned on your furnace for the first time this season? We just had 2 new furnaces installed and when they turned them on all the alarms started going off. And they were LOUD!! At least we know they work.
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Post by just PEAchy on Nov 20, 2014 23:39:26 GMT
You hadn't just turned on your furnace for the first time this season? We just had 2 new furnaces installed and when they turned them on all the alarms started going off. And they were LOUD!! At least we know they work. No, I live in Indiana, our heat has been on for several weeks- coldest November in years |
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Post by gar on Nov 20, 2014 23:40:09 GMT
I probably wouldn't have called the fire service straight away. I would have walked around to see if anything was obvious but if not just stayed on alert for a while.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Nov 20, 2014 23:40:40 GMT
You hadn't just turned on your furnace for the first time this season? We just had 2 new furnaces installed and when they turned them on all the alarms started going off. And they were LOUD!! At least we know they work. No, I live in Indiana, our heat has been on for several weeks- coldest November in years |
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Post by christine58 on Nov 20, 2014 23:43:04 GMT
Are they all hard wired?? As in run on electricity?? They might need to be replaced
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Post by just PEAchy on Nov 20, 2014 23:48:55 GMT
Are they all hard wired?? As in run on electricity?? They might need to be replaced Yes, they are hard wired. The firefighters said the same thing, but that will be up to our landlord to decide. |
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Post by just PEAchy on Nov 20, 2014 23:52:31 GMT
I probably wouldn't have called the fire service straight away. I would have walked around to see if anything was obvious but if not just stayed on alert for a while. I did walk through the house as I was rounding up the kids and dog, checked the clothes dryer, felt the trap door to the attic. I tried calling the non emergency line first, but just got a recording. I'll admit, I was a little freaked out. |
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Post by scrapsuzy on Nov 21, 2014 0:00:19 GMT
You did the right thing. I would NOT have investigated first, because what if it was, say, in the attic and you open the stairway to the attic and WHOOSH there the fire is. Nope, call for help -- that's what they are there for! (I used to be a 911 dispatcher and would be the first to tell you if you should've waited to call.)
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Post by ljs1691 on Nov 21, 2014 0:02:19 GMT
The back up battery (for the system) may need to be replaced. This happened to me several years ago and apparently the alarm was letting us know the battery needed replaced. Our sits inside the big box that houses the alarm system. It is a big battery (maybe 6v) but was easily replaced. Just a thought?
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Deleted
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May 6, 2024 4:52:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2014 0:03:24 GMT
You did the right thing.
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Deleted
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May 6, 2024 4:52:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2014 0:05:11 GMT
You did the right thing. Fires can be in walls, and by the time you would have realized it, it could have been really bad. I would have been freaked out, too.
Please take it seriously whenever they do go off. Don't let your kids think automatically think "oh, it's like that false alarm we had..." I'm not saying you would do that, but that would be a concern for me.
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Post by penny on Nov 21, 2014 0:11:54 GMT
I work for a fire department and you did everything perfectly  Like others mentioned, fires can hide in walls and enclosed spaces and smoulder... It's safer for you and for any firefighter that might get called to a fire to catch these things early... It's never considered a nuisance or a bother... And, it's great chance to practice leaving the house with everyone and meeting at a safe spot outside... You did great! |
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Post by katlaw on Nov 21, 2014 0:12:34 GMT
You absolutely did the right thing. I have worked for the fire department for over 14 years and we get calls like this everyday. We always expect you to call 911 and evacuate your house immediately. Our job is to protect your property and you and we would rather respond to false alarms then lose a home or a life.
For anyone who says they would not call right away I can give you some compelling reasons why you should call without delay.
fire doubles in size every minute it burns
we have much less chance of saving a home once a fire breaches the room of origin.
Common reasons for your alarm to activate are steam from a shower, heat from an open oven door and candles that were just extinguished. If none of those things happened then you are doing the right thing calling 911 and leaving your home.
(getting off my soapbox now)
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Post by houston249 on Nov 21, 2014 2:10:18 GMT
You did the right thing. As far as the fire department goes, they are happy. They got to test their system for the type of call they hope never happens. Yours is the kind of call that they hope to have each and every time. You did great and were a great example for your kids.
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Deleted
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May 6, 2024 4:52:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2014 2:45:58 GMT
In the middle of night ? I would have heart attack good thing the fire department would be in its way.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Nov 21, 2014 4:18:52 GMT
In my current building, the alarms are hardwired in each apartment and the building is wired, too. When the BUILDING alarm goes off, we have to call the fire department-- they're the only ones who can reset the alarm. Fortunately, they are three blocks from here.
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scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,521
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on Nov 21, 2014 5:09:03 GMT
My boyfriend is a firefighter and that happened to me while he was over...he sat there staring at the smoke detectors and said "hmmm, I don't know." So, I probably wouldn't have called based on my past experience.
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M in Carolina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,128 
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Post by M in Carolina on Nov 21, 2014 5:20:28 GMT
Mine did all go off in the middle of the afternoon last summer. I hadn't been cooking or doing anything other than sitting on the sofa most of the day--I wasn't feeling well.
The reset button for the alarm is on the unit stuck to our 10' high 2nd floor hallway right in front of our staircase. I called dh, because I knew he didn't want to climb up onto the stepstool, where I could lose my balance and fall down the stairwell.
When dh came home 10 minutes later, he noticed that the hall ceiling was WET. We've been renting our townhouse since it was new. The builders didn't seal all the seams leading outside, and all the severe rainstorms and flash flooding actually partially flooded our attic.
Thankfully the fire alarms alerted us to this huge problem before we had water damage or mold. Our landlord did have to get the builders to come back and do some repairs. I've been trying to alert our neighbors to this issue since all our units are the same.
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Mary Kay Lady
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Post by Mary Kay Lady on Nov 21, 2014 5:39:14 GMT
Don't second guess yourself. Fire isn't anything to mess with. Firefighters would rather come out and discover that it's nothing than to come out and pull your bodies out of your burning house. You absolutely did the right thing.
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Post by candleangie on Nov 21, 2014 7:14:07 GMT
Our alarms are all linked, so when one goes off they all go off....but the originating alarm blinks. I take a quick peek to see which one is going off (SUPER small house) and just shut it off. But we set ours off ALL the time. The kids are known to go "Dinner's Done!!"
In the middle of the night, though....yeah, we would leave. We had a 3:30am fire that gutted our house. We would be awake and out the door like *that*.
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M in Carolina
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by M in Carolina on Nov 21, 2014 9:23:02 GMT
I once started a fire on our 2nd floor deck. Thankfully my dad insisted that my mom call the fire department--when they cut into the deck, there was still wood burning that would have continued to burn and get up under the 2nd story great room.
My mom found the fire because she walked into the great room to straighten a lampshade.
I was trying to start the BBQ, and I had taken all of the charcoal briquettes out of the grill and put them on a metal cookie sheet on our deck. I didn't know that once lit, charcoal can reignite.
My dad had told me to "stop what you're doing" and rush across town to pick up something he needed before 5. I told him that I had just set the briquettes aside when the bbq wouldn't start. He wasn't paying attention and insisted that I run, right now.
I learned a lot about fire that day. Dh, an eagle scout, just said "duh" when I told him the briquettes reignited---thanks a lot for sharing that tidbit with me...
I do have a supernose for odors. I always check out any burning or hot plastic type scents. A lot comes from dh's computers, but I know that wires in walls can catch fire.
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Post by smokey2471 on Nov 21, 2014 12:08:15 GMT
So, about an hour ago, all the smoke detectors in my house went off. I wasn't cooking, no candles were burning, I didn't smell smoke. I hustled the kids and the dog into the car and called 911. We waited in the street and the fire engine arrives, all this time the detectors are sounding. The firefighters do a walk through, check the attic, etc. and the smoke detectors finally stop while they are checking things out. They ask about the alarm system, which is installed, but we don't have service, we've never even touched it. We are renting this house while we're building, so I don't know much about it. The firefighters think it might be something with the alarm system or the detectors could be going bad. I was feeling kind of foolish, like maybe they thought I was a hysterical woman. (They gave no indication they thought this way, they were very nice). So could I have some pea reassurance? Did I do the right thing? Has anyone had something like this happen and find out the cause? I will admit, I'm still a little nervous, even though they assured me all was okay. My firefighter husband just said he would rather walk they your non burning house than to pull you out of a full blaze later (possibly dead) because you felt silly. So there you go straight from the mouth of a 25 year Firefighter. He also said that installed alarms have sensors that do go bad after years and that installed alarms have back up batteries incase you lose power and that that battery has to be replaced too after time. If they systems service is not current just dismantle it but to please get carbon monoxide and smoke/heat detectors. And to always unplug your appliances. Toaster can opener mixers etc. he had a fire a few months ago 2 little boys died because appliance and no smoke detectors.. |
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Post by just PEAchy on Nov 21, 2014 12:11:41 GMT
Thanks for all the responses and reassurance! Between 2 outcomes of me being embarrassed that it was nothing or there actually being a fire, I'd definitely rather it just be nothing. I'm very thankful there was no fire.
We've only lived here a few months and we are renting from the owner. I don't know how everything is connected (the detectors and alarm system). The owner is coming over today to check the system out, it sounds like it might need some maintenance.
Thanks again!
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Post by liya on Nov 21, 2014 12:23:11 GMT
I did not read the other replies but about 21 years ago I was home with my newborn daughter. I was making soup. We had an alarm system; it was hard-wired into the house (not current house) and hooked up to a monitoring system that would call your home if it sounded. Well the smoke alarm went off. They called me and I had the fire department come and check. The house was 4 stories including attic and basement and there was no way I was checking for fire with a baby ( I know I shouldn't have checked at all.) All was fine but I felt like you did.
I don't remember what was wrong with our system but I do remember the fire trucks.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2014 12:30:22 GMT
We had this happen not too long ago. I didn't realize that the smoke detectors need to be replaced every 10 years or so. The sensors only last about that long. Ours are hardwired, too. You might want to mention that to your landlord -- I didn't know that they only last so long.
We replaced them with new smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and I feel safer.
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eastcoastpea
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Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Nov 21, 2014 13:06:52 GMT
I'm glad you did the smart thing.
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(They gave no indication they thought this way, they were very nice). So could I have some pea reassurance? Did I do the right thing? Has anyone had something like this happen and find out the cause? I will admit, I'm still a little nervous, even though they assured me all was okay.
Southern Side eyed Pea 
