Question:
I have a residential Ademco system which also has 6 BRK 4120 ionization type smoke detectors wired so as to trip the alarm. Three nights ago, after I had gotten to sleep I was awoken by the smoke alarms all going off in unison as well as the alarm siren. I sleepily ran to the panel and shut off the alarm just in time to hear the phone ring. Well, at least the monitoring company is on their toes. There, of course, was no fire. 10 minutes later, as I was shutting off the lights to go to back to bed, the damn thing went off again. Again a rush to the keypad and then a phone call. The panel cannot bypass the fire zone so I pulled the AC and the battery inside the alarm can. Five minutes later a smoke alarm beeped for about 5 seconds. Long enough to find the offender. I unsnapped from the ceiling, Opened the battery door, took out the battery (all batteries are less than 5 months old, this is an AC system that only uses batteries for backups) and re-installed the battery. My pets were traumatized by these alarms, but I was more traumatized. I couldn't get to sleep. But the smoke alarms never went off again. The next day I was going to re-energize the panel but then thought, what if it false alarms while I am at work? What if the fire dept comes and kicks in a window to see if there is a fire and lets my dog and cat escape. Finally three days later, I have re-energized the panel (I got some canned air and blew out all of the detectors in the interim). No alarms so far. I can only think that it must have been an insect that got into the alarm; we have had a mini cricket invasion lately. I am seriously thinking about having the alarm co come and disconnect the detectors from the system. The smoke alarms themselves could wake the dead; I don't need that damned siren too. Plus if the smoke alarm falses for say 15 seconds it goes off, the damned siren run by the panel stays on. BTW, these detectors are all less than one year old. Feedback?

Answer: If you are wanting me to say "Get them disconnected" I won't. I'd rather have to chase a pet that got out when the fire department responded to a dispatch from a false alarm than find the house and pets gone because no one called the fire department. How close your neighbors are and how likely would it be for them to call in time for the fire department to save the pets is a decision you make on your own. The noise is there to wake you even if you fall asleep watching Patton in surround sound. Aside from the mechanical problem of a bad detector, you don't specify the kind of alarm you have. Most modern alarm systems have a way to distinguish which smoke detector tripped or have a way to stop the sirens without restting the detector so you can find which one tripped in quiet. I'd ask the alarm company about a keypad in your bedroom so you can read which detector tripped. If it happens again, you'll know where the false alarm (or fire) originated. Knowing which one tripped will let you disconnect the one bad smoke detector rather than the entire system or choose the safest way out if the fire is real.