Home Fire Alarm Malfunctions

Batteries and Cold Nights

• One of the most common reasons that fire and smoke alarms malfunction is because of a lack of batteries or the presence of dead batteries. Many alarms will warn you that the batteries are getting low. You may hear a chirping sound coming from the alarm letting you know the batteries are too weak for proper functioning. Sometimes you may only notice the chirping at night. This is because colder temperatures drain the voltage from batteries and if they are getting close to being dangerously low -- and cold nights might drop them to the level that causes the sound.

Alarm Sensor

• If replacing the batteries in your alarm doesn’t stop the chirp warning, then your alarm probably has a more serious problem. The alarm sensor is the component of the alarm that actually senses when the alarm needs to sound to warn you of smoke or fire. If the alarm sensor fails then the alarm may chirp continuously and may not sound at all when there is an actual need. If the batteries don’t fix the problem, you should simply replace your alarm. It will be well worth the money you spend on a new, properly working device.

Interconnected Wiring

• If you have interconnected smoke alarms in your home they can be a real lifesaver – literally. Suppose you have non-connected alarms in the basement, the main floor of your home and in the bedrooms upstairs and a fire breaks out in the basement behind closed doors at night. The alarm in the basement may sound, but the ones up where you are sleeping may not make a peep until it is too late. This is especially true if the heat is running or you have other environmental noise that drowns out the basement alarm. With an interconnected alarm system when one alarm goes off, they all do. This will give you more time to evacuate your family to safety. If you have this type of system set up and they aren’t all sounding when you test them, you should contact customer service at the company that installed the alarms and have them check the wiring.

Cleaning

• Don’t neglect your smoke alarms when it comes to your housekeeping routine. If an alarm gets too dirty it could prevent the alarm from detecting smoke or fire. Simply dust off the alarm each time you are cleaning to ensure it doesn’t get too dirty to function properly. This simple cleaning routine could save your life.