General Chat

Oh my some afternoon!
For those of you that don't know, back in the summer my multifuel stove nearly exploded and I had to call the fire brigade. 2 fire engines and a police car came.Lucky they did as the stove was just about to blow and I wouldn't have had a front room or part of the house left if it had.
The whole experience was traumatic to say the least.
After 2 hours the fire was out but the smell and mess was dire.
Anyway, since then, if I hear a smoke alarm, im filled with panic.Just awhile ago I went to the bathroom and suddenly without warning, Im hearing the smoke alarm. I immediately couldn't work out where from as it wasn't the kitchen or the hall. I opened the door to upstairs and it was the one outside a bedroom door on the landing.

I immediately panicked. I tried to get up the stairs quickly but my heart was pounding so fast, I nearly fell and collapsed.Finally got up and looked in daughters bedroom, nothing amiss. Opened what was my bedroom before, nothing. I dragged a chair and shakily stood on it to switch off the alarm.

I cant fathom out why this one was going off at all.
I had been cooking cauliflower in the kitchen and there was steam but it bypassed the alarm directly outside the kitchen door!!

Im still shaking and so upset as im here on my own and its dark outside now.
I haven't any fire or anything cooking now. Im just so nervous as to why the one upstairs went off.

Has anyone else had this happen?

Ever since the fire in the summer, I dread hearing the alarm sounding.

Im probably sounding very meladramatic but it has really reduced me to a nervous wreck.
I think I feel better just talking about it on here as im on my own if you can understand that.
Daughter not back until tomorrow.

Florence in the hebrides :-(

Florence, could it be that the battery is low, I am pretty sure Ours went off the other day and OH checked and said the battery needed changing. (we had no smoke or fire). Do your fire brigade have far to come to you. If you are really worried you could give them a phone call (not an emergency call and see if they can send somebody out to check.

Well when they came in the summer, they thoroughly checked all the alarms and the carbon monoxide one which they moved to the kitchen.

Im not normally a nervous person, but since my heart problem etc, I have lost my confidence and it doesn't take much to panic me I guess.
They are about 10 miles away, in the town itself.
I think what worries me the most is hearing that alarm in the middle of the night, that would really scare me senseless especially I as cant get in the car and drive somewhere away from the house.
Im sure this has happened to lots of other people but for me today, the fire in the summer came flooding back to me!

Florence in the hebrides

Florence, ours went off in the middle of the night a few months ago. But there seemed to be nothing at all to account for it, no smoke, steam, no windows open, so it wasn't from outside and the battery was fine.

It is frightening though, especially if you've had a fire before. I often go down stairs to check that I've turned things off, and check rather obsessively if I go out.

Mine went off last year - 2 weeks after it was 'tested' by Council contractors.
Unfortunately, it was moved from downstairs to the stairwell.
So, at 3am, I came downstairs, heaved the ladder upstairs - still couldn't quite
reach it, so got the broom and battered it! :-|
It opened, and using (believe it or not), a metal carpet threshold thingy, I prised the battery out.
On close inspection, the battery's 'use by' date was 2009 - so it hadn't been changed in 10 years! :-| :-| :-|

I had a few 'words' with the Council - the smoke alarm was replaced (and I insisted they removed the battered one), and put where I could reach it!
I still need a stepladder, but at least I won't be hanging over the stairs.

Oh my Maggie!! I do need to stand on a chair but a ladder hanging over the stairs...crikey!
When daughter comes tomorrow, think ill get her to look at battery and check it just to make sure. I will feel more settled then.

Yes Rose, before I go to bed, I do find myself checking everywhere more than once.Especially the gas hob. I was only ever use to electric before so very wary of the gas.

Florence in the hebrides

Sorry to hear of your fright - hope you feel better soon. It is not the right time of year but we had a similar experience some time back and discovered it was caused by thunder bugs when the local farmers were harvesting. Perhaps something small and flying was looking for a new home!

Jacqueline is correct Florence, insects and spiders can set them off sometimes. Ours went off one night...of course the kids didn't hear it at all...we're running around making sure there's no fire and trying to get heart rate down from the fright. We've changed to louder alarms with lights right over their beds lets see them sleep through those if they ever go off.

Thankyou for your suggestions. Tomorrow I will get daughter to have a look at the battery and also see if there are any insects etc or dust.

In a way, I hope it is a spider or creepie crawlie .

Feeling more settled now than I was this afternoon

Florence in the hebrides

I got the fire brigade in to check my house to see if I needed more fire alarms and or more carbon monoxide detectors

The carbon monoxide one was ok but he resited it on top of a kitchen cupboard as gas rises

The old fire alarm I have in the lounge and in the stairwell were ok but he installed two more one on the upstairs landing ceiling and one on the hall ceiling
The new ones are sealed units and last ten years and were foc and they will replace when necessary

He recommended changing the batteries in the other ones every 18 months or so

I had some batteries and he changed them .

Also took note of who lived in the house ,animals etc and that there was a stair lift
It will all go on their computer and if they do get called out they will know the house layout

The inspection was free

That was a thorough inspection Shirley. When the fire brigade came earlier this year, my carbon monoxide thing was on a shelf in the lounge but they resited it high up a wall to the right of gas cooker in my kitchen.made more sense.

They did say that although battery alarms were ok for 10 years, the landlord should also have them on mains too, not required by law but a suggestion incase battery failed.

Florence in the Hebrides

PS Im off to bed now.So hope nothing goes off during the night!

Batteries, if a bit marginal on power, through the the night when the temperature drops lose a little more voltage and start off the "flat battery sequence"...a nuisance warning....

I've had so many arguments with Council contractors.
Carbon monoxide is heavier than oxygen, so detectors are not too effective when high up.
I have an open fire (rarely used), and an air vent near the ceiling - I also have a carbon monoxide detector above (but to the side) of the fire.
I put some wadding in the air vent, as it was blowing a hooley and I was freezing - I was told off for this. Apparently due to the vast amounts of Carbon monoxide (heavier than oxygen) that would come from my rarely lit fire.
However the air vent in the kitchen (gas cooker - used every day) has been bricked in ever since I moved here :-S So that's alright, then?
I have a carbon monoxide alarm above the kitchen door. I would be very ill before that kicked in, as the door to the kitchen is never shut, and where I sit in the living room is way below the detector.
My boiler is in a cupboard in my bedroom - complete with carbon monoxide detector - half way up the door of the cupboard - probably the only useful detector in the house!

Florence1 couple or so years ago - at midnight, our burglar alarm AND smoke detector fitted in hall started howling. Burglar alarm is hard wired tho smoke alarm was one fitted by fire brigade and battery powered. I reckon was due to an energy burst of some sort - radar perhaps as we not far from Doncaster airport and I know there was an AWACs aircraft in at that time. Your prob might possibly be similar. Best of luck for future

Florence you mentioned "standing on a chair" bit gormless that. Dont you have step ladders? The lecturers health and safety rep at college I worked at came to work one day with broken arm - he'd been standing on a chair at home to change a light bulb! So stupid. A mate was more stupid, was on hols, stood on a stool to change a bulb - made a right mess off himself - hospital job and a wasted holiday. Be sensible dont risk it

Shirley - best of luck with battery life of the alarms the fire bde fixed. We had two of em, lasted a couple of years. Couldnt replace batteries in em so bought new alarms

Ron I don't have a step ladder, but daughter was holding the chair to support me. Didn't find anything amiss and has been ok since then. Maybe just one of those things, guess I shall never know.

Florence in the hebrides

Ron

The fire brigade ones are sealed units so you can’t replace the batteries

Was told when they need replacing they will come and do it FOC

Florence ...... sorry for the fright you got!

We have 2 hard-wired smoke alarms, one in the hallway just outside the kitchen and one just outside the door of the area in the basement where we have the furnace and hot water heater.. They are more-or-less in line with each other.

The one in the basement often goes off (at least once a week) when we are cooking, while the one just outside the kitchen stays silent. That happens with cooking veggies, baking in the oven, and every time we grilled (never do that now). The door to the basement stairs is almost always closed.

Because they are mains, they have to be turned off at the fuse box ............. that fuse s also the one used for the master bedroom bedside lights and clock radio alarms (don't ask why!).

OH has to dash down, turn the fuse off for a while, back on, repeat if alarm sounds again, until it stops. Then we have to reset the clock radios.

I can't run down the stairs anywhere near fast enough, and anyway can never remember which fuse we have to switch off, any way I rarely hear it through the door.

We have no idea why it works this way.

We have also had the alarm go off due to insects .................. and even had one of our indoor house movement alarms go off due to a spider "thread" waving in front of it! We called the company, their man came and said the monitor was old and replaced it!

Glad you sorted it Joan, so now you wont have to worry for another 10 years.

My alarm hasn't gone off since so may of been just one of those things!

Florence in the hebrides