How to Turn Off a Beeping Fire Alarm?
How to Turn Off a Beeping Fire Alarm?
If your fire alarm’s making a beeping or chirping sound, you’ll want to get to the bottom of the problem quickly.
All fire alarms make a loud, unmistakable sound when there’s an alarm. However, fire alarms also make quieter beeping and chirping sounds to indicate faults. Faults can be caused by things like a low battery, an end of life warning or even by insects getting into sensors. Different makes, models and types of fire alarm also make different noises to indicate different problems. A smoke alarm might make a different noise to a combined smoke and CO2 alarm, for example.
It’s not always immediately obvious to see what you need to do to stop the noise. What you can do, however, is check all the possible causes and work out what the problem is. In this guide, we’ll explain what to check and how to turn off a beeping fire alarm.
Fire alarms are important pieces of fire safety equipment. Fixing the beeping will mean you don’t have to put up with the noise, and it will also keep you and your family safe if it indicated an error with the alarm.
Shop Fire Safety Related Categories
Why do fire alarms make beeping noises?
Here are all the normal reasons why fire alarms make beeping or chirping noises:
-
Low battery – Battery powered and mains powered alarms both beep to indicate a low battery. Battery powered smoke alarms beep if the main battery is low. Mains powered alarms have a reserve battery so they will work when the power goes off. They’ll beep if this is low.
-
End of life warning – Fire alarms normally have a maximum lifespan of 10 years. They’ll beep to indicate when it’s time to replace them.
-
Dust or dirt in the sensors – Fire alarms can emit beeping or chirping sounds when there’s dust and dirt in the sensors.
-
Malfunction – Other malfunctions, like a wiring fault, might cause warning sounds.
How to turn off a fire alarm: Step-by-step
Here’s a step by step guide for how to turn off a fire alarm that’s making chirping or beeping sounds. The steps covered in this guide should help you work out how to turn off a fire alarm in an apartment, flat or house. Turning off fire alarms in commercial buildings can be more complicated with some systems, although the causes are often the same.
Most of the time, even in mains powered alarms, you just need to change the battery to turn off your fire alarm.
Check the manual: It’s a good idea to look at the user manual if you still have it. Alarms often use specific sounds to indicate certain problems. You might find out how to turn off your fire alarm just by looking at the manual.
Having a step ladder or a work platform is really handy at a time like this. They’re also useful for other times you need to safely reach the ceiling, like when you’re changing a lightbulb.
You can press the hush or silence button on your alarm to make it go quiet while you’re working. Although, this won’t solve the underlying problem that’s causing the beeping sound. The sound will start again, usually after about 10 – 15 minutes.
Step 1. Change the battery
Most of the time, all you need to do is change the battery. This applies to both battery powered and mains powered alarms. Mains powered alarms have a battery inside that provides back up power if the power is cut off. If this gets low, the alarm will beep to notify you that it needs replacing. Battery powered alarms simply beep if the main battery is low.
Before you do anything, turn off the power to your alarm if it is mains powered. Take the alarm off its mount and take out the old battery. Then replace it with a fresh one, making sure you put it in the right way round. After you put it in, put the alarm back in place and turn back on the power if it’s mains powered. Press the reset button if there is one. Finally, press the test button to make sure it works with the new battery.
Wait for 10 – 15 minutes to see if the problem is solved.
Note: Some fire alarms, such as 10 year lithium battery smoke alarms, are sealed units that come fitted with a battery that lasts the entire life of the alarm. On these alarms, you can’t replace the battery. However, the battery only runs out when it’s time to replace the alarm. Alarm expiry and replacement is covered in step 3.
Step 2. Clean the fire alarm
If replacing the battery doesn’t work, you can try cleaning your alarm. Again, turn off the power if it’s mains powered alarm first. Then take the alarm off and take out the battery.
Hoover around the sensors or use a soft brush to get rid of as much dust as you can. Then carefully clean all parts of the alarm with a damp cloth, making sure you get rid of all the grease and grime. Put the batteries back in, put the alarm back in place, and turn back on the power if it’s mains powered. Press the reset button if there is one. Finally, press test to check it works.
Wait for 10 – 15 minutes to see if the problem is solved.
Step 3. Check replacement date or manufacture date
The next thing you can check is the expiry date on the alarm. Turn the power off to a mains powered alarm before you do anything.
Take the alarm off and look for an expiry date or a manufacturing date. If your alarm has reached its expiry date, you will be able to see clearly. Otherwise, if it only shows a manufacturing date, there is a good chance it’s reached the end of its life if it’s 8 – 10 years old.
Alarms have sensors that wear out over time, and they have to be replaced when they reach the end of their usable life.
You can choose from a wide range of replacement fire alarms. There’s everything from very low cost, basic alarms to advanced smart fire alarms. Fire blankets and fire extinguishers also have a limited lifespan. It’s a good idea to check if yours need replacing at the same time.
Step 4. Check for environmental causes
Sometimes, environmental factors like humidity, steam or extreme temperatures can trigger false alarms or cause fire alarms to beep to indicate a problem.
Check your fire alarm is in a suitable location. Correct positioning for a fire alarm depends on the type of fire alarm. The best thing is to find out what the correct location for your particular fire alarm is.
Sometimes, you might be able to solve a problem by taking an action such as opening a window. If you’re able to, press the reset button if it has one. Otherwise, taking out the batteries or turning on and off the power will reset the alarm.
Reset your alarm, and wait 10 – 15 minutes to see if the problem is solved.
Step 5. Refer to instructions or replace the alarm
If none of the fixes so far have worked, then the fault is likely to be more complicated. It could be that there is an internal fault, like a wiring fault.
Look for the instructions that came with your fire alarm to see if you can find out what the problem is. If you don’t have the instructions, the best thing is to seek advice or replace the alarm.
Common mistakes when turning off a fire alarm
Here are some of the common mistakes people make when they’re working out how to turn off a fire alarm.
Removing the batteries in a fire alarm
Do not take the batteries out of an alarm to make it go quiet.
-
On a battery powered alarm, this will leave you and your family without protection against fire.
-
On a mains powered alarm, the alarm will continue to beep to indicate the batteries are missing. It could also cause it to stop working.
Always make sure you put in replacement batteries. If it is a sealed unit, and you can’t replace the batteries, make sure you pick up a replacement sealed battery smoke alarm.
Forgetting to reset the fire alarm
It’s important to remember to reset your alarm after you try all the different fixes.
-
If your alarm has a reset button, you can press it.
-
If there’s no reset button, remove and reinsert the batteries on a battery powered alarm or power off and on a mains powered alarm to reset it.
Ignoring environmental causes of beeping or false alarms
If beeping is caused intermittently by an environmental factor, don’t ignore the problem. If there’s persistent dust or dirt build up, or if steam or temperatures are causing a problem, work out how to turn off your beeping fire alarm and rectify the situation. In the long run, it’s easier to move the alarm or find another fix than to put up with a beeping alarm.
How to turn off a fire alarm key considerations
Beeping and chirping fire alarms can be annoying. Most of the time, however, it’s not difficult to work out how to turn off a fire alarm that’s beeping or chirping to indicate a fault.
The exact sounds you’ll hear depend on what type of fire alarm you have. The easiest thing is if you still have the manual and you can look at it to find out what the different tones mean. Otherwise, you can run through the steps in this guide. Make sure to avoid the pitfalls we’ve pointed out as well.
Fire alarms are a crucial piece of fire safety equipment that have saved countless lives. Make sure you maintain fire alarms well, whether they’re in your home, in an office or in a commercial building.