CEO, Firewize
06 Sep, 2023
A smoke alarm is a is an device for the detection of smoke that incorporates an integrated alarm sounder. A smoke alarm may be stand alone, or interconnected with other fire detectors in the same building to alert the occupants of a building in the event of a fire.
You can learn more about how a smoke alarm works in an article we have written previously about "What is a smoke alarm?"
There are a number of reasons that a smoke alarm can "chirp" or "beep", these include;
Smoke alarms can also fall into one of two categories;
A stand alone smoke alarm self contained and does not have any interconnection with other smoke alarms in the same building.
The causes for a smoke alarm chirping or beeping as described earlier are contained to a single smoke alarm, that is is there is a low battery signal and the smoke alarm begins to chirp or beep it is limited to that smoke alarm only and no other sin the same building are affected.
The following checklist has been developed to help people with a smoke alarm that is chirping or beeping to identify and rectify the root cause.
[INSERT CHECKLIST FOR STAND ALONE SMOKE ALARM CHIRPING HERE]
An interconnected smoke alarm system consists of multiple smoke alarms linked together, either through wired or wireless connections.
When one smoke alarm detects smoke, all alarms in the network sound simultaneously. This ensures comprehensive alert coverage throughout a property.
While an interconnected smoke alarm is more effective at alerting occupants in a building they may also cause confusion in regard to which smoke alarm is the source of nuisance alarms when all smoke alarms activate simultaneously. That said some smoke alarms provide indication of which smoke alarm is the source of the alarm signal making it easier to identify the cause.
Most manufacturers state that a smoke alarm has a lifespan of 10 years, after which time the smoke alarm should be replaced.
Where a smoke alarm is interconnected, all smoke alarms should be replaced at the same time with the same make and model.
