Smoke detectors for hard of hearing

[Blackrock]

Can anyone recommend a smoke detector for the hard of hearing ?
Our Fire Angel at the bottom of the stairs went off in the middle of the night recently and I never heard a thing. My daughter in her bedroom heard it and investigated (thankfully a false alarm) and then told me about it the next morning. We have another detector at the top of the stairs, but to be honest, I'm not sure I'd hear that either. I'm high-tone deaf and I think fire/smoke detectors emit a high toned siren which doesn't help me very much. Anyone know of a detector that can provide variable tones ?

[Stuartli]

Why not have a word with the Merseyside Fire Brigade, who install the majority of the town's fire alarms free of charge?

They may well have what you require and fit them for you.

[Blackrock]

Why not have a word with the Merseyside Fire Brigade, who install the majority of the town's fire alarms free of charge?

They may well have what you require and fit them for you.

Thanks Stuart. Our first alarm (the fire angel) was installed by them a number of years ago and I have since replaced it with the same model after the battery failed, but I agree - it may be worth seeking their advice and I'll follow it up.

[Stuartli]

Thanks Stuart. Our first alarm (the fire angel) was installed by them a number of years ago and I have since replaced it with the same model after the battery failed, but I agree - it may be worth seeking their advice and I'll follow it up.

The brigade's firemen actually replace the alarms on a regular basis and a good job too, as those that were claimed to have a 10-year battery life actually packed up after about three years... Apparently there was a faulty batch of the alarms.

[seivad]

Our smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors have an alarm and a strobe light. The lights are supposed to be for the hard of hearing, but I guess that's not much use if you're sound asleep. The alarms are linked throughout the house, so if one goes off, it triggers the others. Flashing strobes and an alarm that would wake the dead. It scared the living daylight out of me the first time it happened. They have reformed a perpetual toast burner!

[Hamble]

https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Educatio...ard-of-hearing

[Stuartli]

Our smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors have an alarm and a strobe light. The lights are supposed to be for the hard of hearing, but I guess that's not much use if you're sound asleep. The alarms are linked throughout the house, so if one goes off, it triggers the others. Flashing strobes and an alarm that would wake the dead. It scared the living daylight out of me the first time it happened. They have reformed a perpetual toast burner!

Those, presumably, will be alarms connected via the mains?

You can also buy door bells that set off a monitor advising, by both a loud alarm and flashing light, to those who are hard of hearing that someone is at the door.

I acquired one for a friend who later told me that the first time the door alarm had gone off, he had jumped several feet in the air because it was so loud...

[seivad]

Those, presumably, will be alarms connected via the mains?

You can also buy door bells that set off a monitor advising, by both a loud alarm and flashing light, to those who are hard of hearing that someone is at the door.

I acquired one for a friend who later told me that the first time the door alarm had gone off, he had jumped several feet in the air because it was so loud...

Yes, they're connected via the mains, with battery backup in case of power outages. When the batteries are getting low they make a very loud annoying chirrup every 3 minutes until you replace them.

The first time one of the damned things started chirruping was when my husband was out for the day. Our ceilings are high so it takes the extra long stepladder to get at one. Couple this with a wife who didn't have a clue how to get in one to change the battery. I managed to get up there, but there was no obvious way in. Get down again to find the manual, no manual to be found. Google manufacturer to find one online. Print it out, back up the ladder. Manage to get in it, realise it's a 9V battery, and we don't have any. Thought sod this, phoned hubby and asked him to pick one up before he came home. Problem solved! But that damned chirruping drove me crazy.

[Hamble]

Yes, they're connected via the mains, with battery backup in case of power outages. When the batteries are getting low they make a very loud annoying chirrup every 3 minutes until you replace them.

The first time one of the damned things started chirruping was when my husband was out for the day. Our ceilings are high so it takes the extra long stepladder to get at one. Couple this with a wife who didn't have a clue how to get in one to change the battery. I managed to get up there, but there was no obvious way in. Get down again to find the manual, no manual to be found. Google manufacturer to find one online. Print it out, back up the ladder. Manage to get in it, realise it's a 9V battery, and we don't have any. Thought sod this, phoned hubby and asked him to pick one up before he came home. Problem solved! But that damned chirruping drove me crazy.

Our battery's always seem to kick off in the early hours of the morning
too when one is too sleep stupoured to get up to fix.

[said]

Can anyone recommend a smoke detector for the hard of hearing ?
Our Fire Angel at the bottom of the stairs went off in the middle of the night recently and I never heard a thing. My daughter in her bedroom heard it and investigated (thankfully a false alarm) and then told me about it the next morning. We have another detector at the top of the stairs, but to be honest, I'm not sure I'd hear that either. I'm high-tone deaf and I think fire/smoke detectors emit a high toned siren which doesn't help me very much. Anyone know of a detector that can provide variable tones ?

Ha!Ha! It is a brilliant idea but I am not sure it would work. I can sleep solid even if a bomb went off in the next room. I scare myself sometimes, wondering what would happen if my fire alarm went off.

[gsgsgs]

Our battery's always seem to kick off in the early hours of the morning
too when one is too sleep stupoured to get up to fix.

Why do they always start beeping to replace the battery in the middle of the night?

My main smoke alarm is connected to my house alarm, the 1st time the battery started beeping a 3am I got up and removed the alarm from the casing to take the battery out until the morning, what I didn't know my house alarm thought it was being tampered with so set off the whole alarm! at 3am I wasn't very popular with my neighbours

[Broadsword999]

Can anyone recommend a smoke detector for the hard of hearing ?
Our Fire Angel at the bottom of the stairs went off in the middle of the night recently and I never heard a thing. My daughter in her bedroom heard it and investigated (thankfully a false alarm) and then told me about it the next morning. We have another detector at the top of the stairs, but to be honest, I'm not sure I'd hear that either. I'm high-tone deaf and I think fire/smoke detectors emit a high toned siren which doesn't help me very much. Anyone know of a detector that can provide variable tones ?

Merseyside F&RS used to fit alarms for the hard of hearing, and I'm sure they still do. It consists of a strobe light and a vibrating pad which goes under the pillow.

https://www.merseyfire.gov.uk/safety...rd-of-hearing/

If they won't for whatever reason, you can always buy them yourself, but may require an electrician to fit.

https://www.safelincs.co.uk/fire-ala...rd-of-hearing/

[Broadsword999]

Our battery's always seem to kick off in the early hours of the morning
too when one is too sleep stupoured to get up to fix.

I was always told the reason they started chirping in the early hours, was down to the temperature. If your battery is getting low, then during the night when the temp drops, the battery loses some of it's power and will start to chirp. In the morning when the heating starts, the battery warms up and stops chirping until the next night.

Also, if you press the test button when it's chirping at night, it's supposed to silence the alarm to allow you to change the battery the next day. The alarm still has power and will still sound if smoke is detected.

[Stuartli]

Yes, they're connected via the mains, with battery backup in case of power outages. When the batteries are getting low they make a very loud annoying chirrup every 3 minutes until you replace them.

The first time one of the damned things started chirruping was when my husband was out for the day. Our ceilings are high so it takes the extra long stepladder to get at one. Couple this with a wife who didn't have a clue how to get in one to change the battery. I managed to get up there, but there was no obvious way in. Get down again to find the manual, no manual to be found. Google manufacturer to find one online. Print it out, back up the ladder. Manage to get in it, realise it's a 9V battery, and we don't have any. Thought sod this, phoned hubby and asked him to pick one up before he came home. Problem solved! But that damned chirruping drove me crazy.

Had the same problem with the chirping (every 40 seconds) and couldn't do much about it equally because of the high ceilings over the upstairs landing.

Eventually sorted, but in my case the alarms had to be scrapped because the batteries had given up the ghost and can't be replaced....:-(