Smoke Detectors

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Damn it I was only grilling some steaks. The fucking thing wouldn't stop until I actually ripped the wires out of the ceiling. Now I've damaged a rental property and I'm paranoid in case there's an actual fire! Why don't they just put 'off' switches on them?

― choke, Sunday, 9 April 2006 11:22 (twenty years ago)

WTF? I don't think I've ever seen one that didn't run off a nine volt battery (and therefore started chirping annoyingly once a year or so driving you crazy for days until you finally realize what's going on and just disconnect it without replacing the power source so the damn smoke detector isn't doing any good anyway and you will probably burn to death in a three alarm blaze on noes.)

Anyway, dud.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 9 April 2006 11:27 (twenty years ago)

How can something that stops you dying horribly and painfully be dud?

Mine seems to not like us cooking bacon, which is a bother for us and our neighbours most Sundays.

― ailsa (ailsa), Sunday, 9 April 2006 11:29 (twenty years ago)

I have the same kind as choke -- they run right off the apartment's own AC power via a little modular clip, no internal power source. I, too, have ripped one right out of the ceiling before.

Though they're nothing compared to the actual apartment community emergency alarm, which emits from a little metal thing sticking from the ceiling and sounds like one of those "Dive! Dive!" klaxons from submarine movies, except at about 250dB, goes off as a false alarm about twice a year, and causes my cats to become neurotic little balls of quickly-shedding terror.

― phil d. (Phil D.), Sunday, 9 April 2006 11:37 (twenty years ago)

HI DERE THREAD

I just set off the smoke alarm while cooking bacon, and they're both the no-battery kind. I was running around like an idiot trying to turn them off (almost ripping them out of the ceiling) before I opened the door and turned on the fans.

Then I lay back down in bed in utter fuckitness and they went off again.

― Jordan (Jordan), Sunday, 9 April 2006 12:50 (twenty years ago)

My point was they DON'T stop you from dying, because they are either ripped from the ceiling due to false alarms or left disconnected from their batteries due to false alarms.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 9 April 2006 13:25 (twenty years ago)

we have three, and the one in the hall b/w our kitchen and master bedroom is right outside the bathroom. had to remove the battery because it went off every time we took a shower. it cannot tell steam from smoke. fucking stupid machine.

― kyle (akmonday), Sunday, 9 April 2006 13:27 (twenty years ago)

okay, smoke/fire/heat alarms = classic if you've got decent ventillation in your place. And classic too for the life-saving properties. And 9V batteries are cool too. In one place, I used to have one of those hardwired ones that we had to get up on a chair and HIT so it would stop. I don't even know how that works.

DUD: falling asleep last night/morning at 4am, waking up out of deep and necessary sleep at 6am to building fire alarm (LOUD CLANGING BELL) going off. Freaking out, recalling recent burning down of bldgs nearby, grabbing purse, putting on coat, going downstairs, outside in the cold, watching firemen nonchalantly come in with a tank of water, and then being told it was all due to someone on the 2nd floor setting something on fire with their fucking cigarette (but managing to put it out).
wtf. I know people smoke, I accept it, and it doesn't make you "bad" or anything, sure, I still love you, but god do I TOTALLY HATE IT IN ALL WAYS POSSIBLE.

― rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Sunday, 9 April 2006 22:56 (twenty years ago)

oh man yeah the building alarm! my old one would go off when there was too much dust in the air, and they were knocking down the building across the street so there was ALWAYS DUST IN THE AIR.

I think my friend in the same building was able to get a date with one of the firemen because she ended up seeing him so often (and was so often in her nightgown when she did see him).

― teeny (teeny), Sunday, 9 April 2006 23:47 (twenty years ago)

seventeen years pass...

had one of them errantly go off at 2:30 AM last night. in my house they're all wired together so every single one started beeping at different intervals. also they talk to you, saying "Fire" in such a weirdly nonchalant voice, which is incredibly creepy to hear right as you're being abruptly woken up. unable to sleep I just walked around staring at them and found the one that probably went off - the light was blinking solid red. I see a spider pop out of it and wonder, was that it? is it possible for bugs to trip these things?? I tried to grab it but it scurried back in which made it impossible to sleep because I thought it might pop off again. gonna vacuum the shit outta this thing now

― frogbs, Tuesday, 25 July 2023 15:14 (two years ago)

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