r/Firefighting • u/PhilosopherFull819 • May 29 '25

Ask A Firefighter Firefighter told me I shouldn't have called.

The smoke detector was going off from the car port underneath the garage apartments behind the 4plex I live in. I walked outside and saw no smoke or fire and found the detector. I mulled over reaching up and disabling it myself but I opted to err on the side of caution and report it. A truck pulled up minutes later and I showed the guys what I saw. The tallest one reached up and pulled it off and took out the battery. Another one got angry and said that I should "grow up" and "feel embarrassed" for calling. To which I replied I didn't want to turn off the alarm without confirming there was no danger that I couldn't see myself and thanked them and told them to have a nice day and they left. I imaging he was stressed and tired but can't help feeling like I did something wrong.

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u/PhilosopherFull819 May 29 '25

If it was going off in my kitchen yes I would turn it off if there was nothing. However there is an apartment above this car port where someone lives, disabling the alarm protecting someone's property while they sleep seemed like not the right choice but that's just me.

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u/Signal_Reflection297 May 29 '25

Residents should not touch smoke detectors in other units or common areas. Calling your superintendent or the FD is the right call here, regardless of the cause or signal given.

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u/fioreman May 29 '25

Did you call 911 or the non-emergency number?

If you called the 911 emergency number, that was the right thing to do.

If it was a common area, the FD should have been automatically dispatched unless it's an old small apartment with an individual owner.

But there's obviously no fire, the first call should be to your property's maintenance person.