After we got home from our travels on Wednesday evening, we heard our smoke detector chirp a few times. Our apartment has wired junction box in the ceiling between the hall and the bedroom. So, it usually only makes a fuss for a few minutes after we shut off the power to our unit for the winter. However, we had left everything powered on during our recent trip.
I mentioned it to our building manager as we were coming back from the hot tub that night. He said that it may be 10 years old, and handed me a box with a new Kidde. We didn't hear it again. It didn't make a peep yesterday. I was about give the box back but heard the sound again morning. Okay, it really is time for a replacement. I took down the old one and the date printed inside showed it would reach its end of life in May 2025. "Cool it did," I thought aloud.
The new one startled me after I plugged it in. During testing, it beeped and then shouted. "Fire, Fire!" The beep is ear-piercing but I guess it is better to have voice confirmation too. There are so many damned things that can beep now. If half asleep in the middle of the night, I might just wonder what was making a ruckus.
Oh, incidentally, as I'm in Canada, my smoke alarm has an option to alert me in English or French.