On Nov. 5 it was time to “Fall Back”, moving your clocks back an hour. As FireMom on Stop, Drop and Blog reminds people, this is also an excellent time to test and change the batteries in your smoke detectors too.
I am ashamed to admit that none of the smoke detectors in our house have been tested in ages. In fact all are non-functional as the batteries had been removed ages ago. I’m talking years here. The reason? Beeping when the battery wore down and pure laziness in not replacing them. Heck, I’ve even lost one of the smoke alarms. At one point we did have the requisite working alarms because of our home study requirements. We have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Does that help matters any?
So yesterday I bought 9 volt batteries with the intent of replacing all the batteries and getting our smoke alarms functional. Charlie was going to help me as part of a Cub Scout elective to earn a Tiger Track bead. At least that was the plan.
We started with the smoke alarm nearest the kitchen. Charlie put in the new battery. He pushed the button to test it. It beeped loud and clear so we moved onto to Hubby’s office. There my master plan was derailed. Charlie put the new battery in and pushed the button. Nothing. Not a red light, not a sound. We tried a different new battery. ZIppo. Diddly-squat.
I regrouped saying that the detector itself must have gone bad. I have no clue if that is even possible but hey, I was trying to think on my feet. We headed to the hallway, which is a much older alarm since it came with the house 13 years ago. It didn’t work either. Neither did the one in Charlie’s bedroom which is only 7 years old. Or any of the others in the house. At least the ones I could find.
So today I will be buying 6 new smoke detectors. Guess this would be a good time to replace the carbon monoxide detector that doesn’t work either.
Elizabeth
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