Villages Services
 

During the evening one of our smoke detectors started to go off, of course it was in the middle of the night. In the morning we called the Community Services and the lady who answered could not have been nicer said no problem there would be someone within a couple of hours to help as the detector was way beyond what our ladder would reach. Within an hour a fire truck came to our house and two firemen replaced all the smoke detector batteries in the house. Any of us would have been proud to call them our kids as they could not have been more helpful or polite. It just goes to show what a terrific fire department and safety service there is in The Villages. It is just another reason to be proud of our Communities. :bigbow:

I'm confused. Did it start "chirping", indicating a low battery condition, or was it a full fledged alarm indicating a possible fire?

They are a fantastic group of people. I called them for one of my clients so they could replace some detector and a CO2 monitor for her. Honestly, they couldn't have been nicer or more accommodating. They did exactly what she asked and then some. I was impressed and awed by the two men who came and helped...without charging her anything.

Chirping
 

It was chirping,:popcorn:

How old are/is the alarm?
Our house is 2 yrs old
We are not the original owners.
Should we changebthe batteries? ( excusez moi if this is a stupid question, please)

First of all, TV Fire Department are a great bunch of people. There service is par excellence. To answer you question, we change our batteries (9V) every year whether they need it or not. I'm considering every six months as we are snowbirds and have someone watch our house.

good to know....I just moved in and mine was chirping...I bought 9v from Lowes but they didn't fit...I had to get the cheap ones from the Dollar Store....I'll change them all but will remember that I can call someone if I need help

The National Fire Protection Association recommends changing smoke detector batteries at least once a year. It is suggested that a good way to remember is to do it concurrently with changing your clocks at Daylight Savings Time changes.

http://nfpatoday.blog.nfpa.org/2013/...d-tonight.html

Something you seldom hear is their recommendation that you REPLACE THE ENTIRE DETECTOR when it is ten years old.

This is indeed true. May I add that if you are considering upgrading your smoke alarms I recommend installing the newer photoelectric or dual photoelectric/ionization detectors and not the cheaper ionization only detectors that are quite common.

Something of course is better then nothing, but if you are buying new the photoelectric ones have been proven to save more lives.

Photoelectric vs Ionization Smoke Alarms - Deadly Differences

Hope this helps. Respectfully, Frank D'Angelo, ACI

Replacing Alarms
 

I should add that the Firemen recommended we change our Alarms as the current ones are 7 years old and they said the good rule of thumb is to change them every 7 years.:popcorn:

It is wonderful that The Villages Fire Department provides this service. I am not a fan of ladders, and less so the older I get.

I am a wannabee from up north...Last year I replaced my smoke detectors with the 10 year smoke detectors that never need to have the battery replaced, and these detectors are supposed to last for 10 years. In 9 years when it is time to replace these detectors I had better be a Villager or there will be h_____ to pay! :)

Attached is a 30 page pdf document by TV's Fire Dept. where you will find "Smoke Alarm" information on page 22. It includes the when to change and phone number to use in requesting assistance if you feel you need it in changing the batteries!

Once you have the pdf document open, I would suggest you do like I've done and save it to your desktop where you will have quick access to the document without racking your brain trying to remember where you stored it or having to resort to trying to find it on this forum or Goggling for it.

We just had to call the fire department because of the chirping of the smoke alarms. My husband replaced the batteries, but had not reset the alarms. The fire department came very promptly and they were so kind and courteous. I wish there was something we could do for the department to show our appreciation. What an excellent experience.

I love firemen and football players.
:0000000000luvmyhors:
smitten kitten

How about cookies or even a cake?