Fire station No.1
Cottleville Fire Department Smoke Detector Program
The fire department is running a smoke detector inspection and testing program in the Meadow Ridge Villas Saturday. If you are interested the fire department is willing to add another Saturday to the program for Meadow Ridge Saturday, November 23rd.
Basically, we just need the homeowner to give us a call at 636-447-6655 and then dial 0 to get to one of the administrative assistants. They can add the homeowner to the list of homes that the crew(s) will visit. The way it works is that the crew(s) take the list and just go from one house to the next, starting at about 9 am and going until noon, or as long as they need go to get all the homes on their list completed. If anyone calls outside of business hours, they can leave a message for me at extension 8708. I need for them to leave me their name, address and phone number. I will call them back to confirm.
We ask that homeowners that have the means to provide their own replacement batteries (9 volt) to do so, so that the ones we have can be used for those folks who don’t have the means to get them. For smoke detectors that are over ten years old, the crews will not replace the batteries in those. They will let the homeowner know what to do in regards to getting replacement smoke detectors though. We won’t leave any home without at least one working smoke detector on each level of the home; as we do have some battery operated smoke detectors for folks to use on a temporary basis.
It is important that homeowners with hardwired smoke detectors that are in need of replacement get new smoke detectors that have a connection that will work with the pigtail that is wire nutted to the wires in the box that the detector is attached too. Our personnel are not electricians, so they are restricted from removing wire nuts and change wire connections.
If someone has a crew come by to check their detectors and the crew finds that the detectors need to be replaced, and the homeowner would like for us to come by and install the new detectors, we would be glad to do that. Just have them contact us the same way that I described earlier and we will get that set up.
Thanks,
Mike
For those homeowners that have smoke and carbon dioxide detectors installed, be aware that these detectors have a life expectancy of 10 years or less. If you are not aware of the age of you’re detectors, the date of manufacture is listed on the detector.
In older homes, detectors were powered by house current only. During a power failure, these detectors will not work.
Older detectors are subject to failure due to loss of house current, battery power, obsolescence, contamination from dust and dirt, abuse, painting, etc.
Detectors should be inspected and tested monthly. They may need to be cleaned periodically to prevent false alarms. Never disable detectors.
When the battery operated detector is beeping, it telling you that the battery is failing and needs to be replaced. Batteries should be replaced annually except for detectors that are equipped with 10 year batteries.
It is advisable to install detectors using an uninterruptible power supply such as batteries or normal house current with a battery back up.
The type, number and location of detectors within the house is critical for life safety. Always follow the manufactures instructions.
Mike Cahill
Battalion Chief - Training and Public Education Officer
Cottleville Fire Protection District
Office: 636-447-6655 ext. 8708
Cell: 636-262-8981etail 1
