Daughter called on Tueday night, could i help the fire alarm is going off . . .
She lives in a block of four flats. Indivuidual flats have smoke alarms and there is a central alarm with sounders in each flat and in the communal area.
She says the fire alarm in the hall is going off (penny should have dropped here)resulting in the following exchange:
Do you have a call out number - no
Do you have a code for the alarm panel - no
Nothing I can do - but its noisy and hte neighbours have a baby.
Does the residents committee chair have a number or code? - Don't know will ask.
While she was away SWMBO came in from work and told me to go and sort it out.
As I arrived the ground floor neighbours had just disconnected the sounder above thier door in the communal hall and the red sounder in their flat but the sound continued. They have no power.
As I looked around I realised that the sounder in the hall they had disconnected was a burglar alarm sounder (fire alarm sounder still intact) and alarm still sounding despite removal of the alarm unit.
On prompting the neighbour looked in their hall cupboard and found the alarm panel and disconnected the sounder in it - silence.
So looks like neighbour didn't know they had a burglar alarm (this was the show flat) despite there being an alarm panel in the cupboard, a sounder above their front door and a number pad somewhere in the flat.
So sequence looks like:
The battery on the alarm is failing
They have done something to blow their main fuse
The loss of power caused the alarm to go off.
Tried turning the RCD and mains switches off but still no power. Hadn't taken my multimeter down so wasn't going to take the cover off the CU.
Advised them to get an electrician.
At least daughter and other neighbours could get to sleep.
Moral - If there is a box you don't understand when you move in then ask what it is or it could wake your neighbours.
....shopfitters..........
She lives in a block of four flats. Indivuidual flats have smoke alarms and there is a central alarm with sounders in each flat and in the communal area.
She says the fire alarm in the hall is going off (penny should have dropped here)resulting in the following exchange:
Do you have a call out number - no
Do you have a code for the alarm panel - no
Nothing I can do - but its noisy and hte neighbours have a baby.
Does the residents committee chair have a number or code? - Don't know will ask.
While she was away SWMBO came in from work and told me to go and sort it out.
As I arrived the ground floor neighbours had just disconnected the sounder above thier door in the communal hall and the red sounder in their flat but the sound continued. They have no power.
As I looked around I realised that the sounder in the hall they had disconnected was a burglar alarm sounder (fire alarm sounder still intact) and alarm still sounding despite removal of the alarm unit.
On prompting the neighbour looked in their hall cupboard and found the alarm panel and disconnected the sounder in it - silence.
So looks like neighbour didn't know they had a burglar alarm (this was the show flat) despite there being an alarm panel in the cupboard, a sounder above their front door and a number pad somewhere in the flat.
So sequence looks like:
The battery on the alarm is failing
They have done something to blow their main fuse
The loss of power caused the alarm to go off.
Tried turning the RCD and mains switches off but still no power. Hadn't taken my multimeter down so wasn't going to take the cover off the CU.
Advised them to get an electrician.
At least daughter and other neighbours could get to sleep.
Moral - If there is a box you don't understand when you move in then ask what it is or it could wake your neighbours.
....shopfitters..........
