Question:
I was wondering anyone's thoughts on the battery operated fire alarms versus a hardwired fire alarm. Being that my house is 3 stories, I would like all of my alarms to go off if 1 of them is triggered. I currently have the battery operated but was thinking of upgrading for my reason. Am I crazy for wanting this?

Answer: With the hardwired alams you pay a LOT more for only SLIGHTLY greater protection. And that is ASSuming that you properly maintain the hardwired system including the power failure backup batteries. Even if you DO put in a hardwired system, you would be well advised to put a bunch of the cheap battery operated alarms around the place. There are alternatives including "wireless" models that communicate with a base unit. Again, however, these require some effort to keep them functional. Your greatest risk, of course, is a fire in the basement when you are sleeping in a bedroom on the top floor. You might want to look into a sprinkler system for the basement areas. A flow switch in the sprinkler system can activate an "alarm" that would wake the dead. Alarms (use several) on the main floor should be able to be heard in the bedroom level.