March 2008
Daylight savings happens this month. As a result, it is recommended that batteries be replaced in residential detectors. If your batteries need to be replaced please either have it professionally done, or if so inclined, this is really a very easy DIY activity. Every detector is going to require different steps making it impossible to explain in a monthly tip, however, there are resources on the web for just about all brands and models of detectors. It is far better to replace the batteries too often than it is to not have a working detector when it is needed.
Working Detectors Save Lives!
January 2008
All fire alarm systems are reqired to have an annual inspection performed. The required inspection will test the operability of every device connected to a fire alarm system. Every sounder, detector, panel, power supply, generator, pump, battery, manual device, and damper gets tested to make certain that they will operate properly in the event of a fire emergency. All smoke detectors should also be sensitivity tested to insure that they are operating within parameters set forth by the manufacturer.
The commercial fire alarm industry inspections are enforced vigorously by local fire marshals and must be done by a "licensed" fire alarm technician. Testing is important to insure that notification and control will take place. Residentially, however, enforcement is far less even though the actual test is not less important. Every homeowner should at least test the operability of installed systems. Sometimes there is a test button, sometimes there are other methods of testing. If your fire alarm system is monitored, call your monitoring company and place your monitoring on "test" and run a test on the smoke detectors. Informaation is available from many sources on exactly how to perform the test. We have testing materials and information available on our websites for homeowners. Please consult your local fire marshal to find out what the requirements are in your area.
December 2007
Very recently it has been brought to our attention that Carbon Monoxide is not only very serious threat now that winter has set in, more importantly, public awareness and knowledge of the threat is much lower than we would have expected. We have a situation to share:
"Important please read, My grandson almost lost his life ...
This week a carbon monoxide detector was put in our home by our landlord. I had been demanding it for the two months since they had installed our new gas heating system and was getting worried that with the cold and the heavy use of heat in the house we would need that protection. We went away last week for thanksgiving and that may very well have saved our lives as well. When we arrived home our gas was empty. We had not had exess usage so it was odd. Landlord sent a tech to the house and he ordered an emergency delivery of fuel. When the fuel truck got here he tried to wake us but was unable so he capped off our gas and left a note stating that he thought we had a leak. Next morning maintence pulls the tag off and restarts our gas. Tuesday is when they installed our detector...up high when it should have been low. They installed a cheapo multi use detector. We didnt know the difference and felt relieved and safe. My grandson had been sick and sleeping 14 plus hours at night besides taking such long naps during the day that he had to be physically woken up. We thought he was having a growth spurt. Wednesday night the detector began to alarm. My grandson was sleeping and the loud squelching did not phase him. I called maintenence and was told by the tech to remove the battery and replace..which I did...still squelching. Then he told me that I should remove the battery and he would be there in the morning to replace it because he had 3 others that had been defective. I questioned him as to the intelligence of this. He stated that if we had Carbon monoxide in the house we would smell rotten eggs...false...it is odorless and tasteless. When I hung up the phone i called the fire department and they came with their meters and found that there were dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in our home the highest most leathal levels being in my grandsons room. We were immediately evacuated. My grandson was taken to the ER for Carbon monoxide poisoning. He is better now. We were kept out of our home for two days. there were several leaks found in different areas as well as the venting of the combustion being improperly placed outside the windows in a cove, therefore keeping the gas trapped and causing it to seep into our windows. Our entire "new" system was ripped out and replaced.
- Wanda Kaye"
This situation is ot only unacceptable, it is also completely avoidable. Any and every house that utilizes a flame of any type for heating (furnace, stove, oven, fireplace, water heater) and any home utilizing flaming space heaters should have a Carbon Monoxide detector installed. The actual recommendation is in each sleeping area and outside of each sleeping area. Personally, I subscribe to the belief that multi-gas detectors are not worth the price. Each gas has its own characteristics and detection method. I do believe that a carbon monoxide detector should be installed within 2 feet of the floor. Carbon Monoxide is known as the silent killer, it is colorless, odorless and tasteless. While a person is asleep, the symptoms of poisoning are not readily detectable.
Never, ever remove the battery from a detector that is in alarm and not take some sort of action. If a detector is in an alarm condition it is much safer to call the professionals and have the area checked for problems, especially in the case of carbon monoxide.
Combustion = Carbon Monoxide = Risk
Also, get into the habit of pressing the test button on your detectors from time to time. (I would have to recommend weekly) The test button tests a detectors capabiltiy of warning. This button will not verify the ability to actually detect, but, it is important to use.
If you desire further information on carbon monoxide detectors please shoot us an e-mail The address is in the contact us section of this website. Use CO detection in the subject line and we will be more than happy to respond.
November 2007
With the time change that just passed we hope that no one forgot to change the batteries in the smoke detectors in your houses. These batteries are the possible lifeline that will save your family in the event of a fire, or concentration of smoke. If your fire equipment is connected to a burglar or fire alarm system, they may not require new batteries in the detector itself, check with your security or fire alarm systems service company or send us an e-mail and we'll try to help. Commercial smoke detectors should not require battery replacement, if they do, they are not commercial.
October 2007
Phone lines are the weak point of any security system. Talk to your security professional about options to either protect your phone lines or backup communication methods. Radio, Cellular, and Internet Protocol can all be used as a backup to the phone lines as well as primary communication channels. We have backup equipment for sale that will work with any system. Other options include: monitoring phone lines for loss of circuit, however, this method only works when someone is at the location with the system. If the system cannot communicate, no one will have the ability to respond.
September 2007
Test your burglar alarm system: Set the system in the chime mode and open all protected openings and listen for the chime. Call the monitoring company, place the system on "test" and arm and cause an alarm to verify your signal gets through. Simple tests that any system owner can perform easily.
August 2007
Smoke Detectors require cleaning from time to time. Most current equipment has features that will warn the owner at the correct time to clean the detectors. Some of the older equipment does not have these features and cleaning time is often discovered when false alarms start to occur. Smoke detector cleaning should take about 5 to 10 minutes for each and can actually save money incurred from false alarm calls.
