Question:
I have Firex smoke alarm detectors for the bedrooms. (Apparently put in by builder.) One went off sporadically last night. There was no smoke. I noticed that the green light blinks periodically, but I saw, or thought I saw, it red periodically. Has anyone out there had a similar problem? Guess I will go down to Home Depot and get a new one, since documentation says to replace every 10 years. The model has been discontinued, and when I tried calling the company, Invensys, the phone has been disconnected.

Answer: -If it went off at a reasonable time, be happy. They always seem to false alarm at around 3:30 AM. As cheap as they are, you are probably best off replacing it, and they should all be replaced every 10 years as someone else noted.

-A neighbor had a smoke alarm going off sporadically, so he removed the detector to get it repaired. I don't know where they repair detectors, but nonetheless, days or weeks later a fire broke out in the clock of his stove. Burned out the whole kitchen and smoke damage elsewhere. Maybe water damage under the kitchen also. These things are sensitve and will alarm when smoke levels are below what your nose can sense.