Monday, August 04, 2008

Alarmed!

One day last week when I got home in the middle of the day, there was that awful telltale beeping of a smoke alarm with a dying battery. About once a minute there's a shrill BEEEEEEEEP that is intended to hasten you to fix the situation pronto.

BEEEEEEP

Jax, who is usually catching some ZZZs is scurrying around and giving me a look that says, "Pleeease make it stop!" I run for the earplugs first, then get the ladder from the garage and carry it upstairs as it is apparent it's one of those.

BEEEEEEP

Call MrB at his office, since he's the smoke alarm installer guy and I don't really know how to take this thing down without breaking it. I am getting frantic. I am pulling and twisting on it.

BEEEEEEP

Now I see a hole in the ceiling and the wiring. Plaster is falling in my face. I'm trying to follow the instructions I'm talking on the phone, but NOT calmly. If this doesn't work, I am trying to imagine putting up with a shrill beep going off once a minute for the next 4 hours.

BEEEEEEP

I am yelling now. HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST TO REPLACE IF I BREAK IT? I'M GETTING THE HAMMER IN ABOUT 2 MORE SECONDS!

BEEEEEEP

OK. I got it down. Now where's the danged battery? I can't find it!! He says just twist it open. It's not working!! He's says just put it outside for now. [sigh] Now why didn't I think of that? I stick it out on the front porch. I won't hear it out there, and it may discourage Jehovah's Witnesses. Relieved, I come back inside.

BEEEEEEP

Wha? Something up there is still beeping? I run back upstairs. Have to wait until the minute rolls around. Must be the one in the bedroom.

BEEEEEEP

It's not! It's coming from upstairs... in the bathroom... just a few feet from the smoke alarm on the landing that I just yanked down there's a CO detector in the bathroom. It says "Err" on the front panel. I unplug it from the wall socket. No more beep.

MrB says that the whole scene would have hilarious to watch. I say it would have been a lot funnier if I had smashed the smoke alarm with a hammer.

3 comments:

Nava said...

...you are both right - and it made for a great blogpost!

"just twist it open" - yeah, right. Those damn things never just twist open.

Blueberry said...

Turns out that this smoke alarm didn't twist open, contrary to the phone advice I got from my smoke alarm expert. When he got home he announced that this model has a flip-open battery compartment instead.

I'm sure the hammer would have revealed that.

Ingrid said...

oh my gosh..so I guess aside from having dh show me how to put air in my tire (which he did once upon a time) I'd have to have him show me how to change the alarm batteries..which..I'm sure he showed me once upon a time as well..
what a scene it must've been poor you..but..yep, great for a blog post..hehe..
Ingrid