Good morning. I, too, try to remember to change the batteries on my birthday in the fall. However…. But now we have some that are just batteries and some that are wired in. Currently ten smoke detectors and three carbon monoxide detectors.
the new alarms are not made so that you can replace the batteries. You have to purchase a new smoke alarm. The package says good for ten years but I was lucky to get five years
I encourage smoke alarms and I am confident they have improved over the years but, like so many things, they seem less user friendly and don’t quite come up to expectations. Like gas mileage on a car. Whatever did people do before adding a small radioactive device to their homes (not all smoke detectors contain americium-241)? Well, lose their homes or their bodies in house fires sometimes. Be aware and listen to their dogs?
Occasionally, I will hear of a house or apartment fire in which people are killed, and the report will mention that the smoke detectors had been disabled or were not working, probably due to the batteries not being changed. Makes me cringe to think of how avoidable that could have been.
Early in our marriage, our furnace in the basement caught on fire (maybe the wiring?). A cat woke us about the smoke coming in through the vents. Yes, cats can awaken those who care for them.
cats and birds and spider monkeys, etc. My comment on dogs was similar to mankind being a reference to men and women and boys and girls. Horses, goats and sheep also give warning. I am certain many others do as well.
Wandering Views 
Good morning again. I did post ‘yesterday’, too. 🙂
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Good morning. I, too, try to remember to change the batteries on my birthday in the fall. However…. But now we have some that are just batteries and some that are wired in. Currently ten smoke detectors and three carbon monoxide detectors.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 2 people
the new alarms are not made so that you can replace the batteries. You have to purchase a new smoke alarm. The package says good for ten years but I was lucky to get five years
jo
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I encourage smoke alarms and I am confident they have improved over the years but, like so many things, they seem less user friendly and don’t quite come up to expectations. Like gas mileage on a car. Whatever did people do before adding a small radioactive device to their homes (not all smoke detectors contain americium-241)? Well, lose their homes or their bodies in house fires sometimes. Be aware and listen to their dogs?
mumsee
LikeLiked by 1 person
Occasionally, I will hear of a house or apartment fire in which people are killed, and the report will mention that the smoke detectors had been disabled or were not working, probably due to the batteries not being changed. Makes me cringe to think of how avoidable that could have been.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mumsee – I have even heard of cats sometimes waking up their owners because of a fire.
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Early in our marriage, our furnace in the basement caught on fire (maybe the wiring?). A cat woke us about the smoke coming in through the vents. Yes, cats can awaken those who care for them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
cats and birds and spider monkeys, etc. My comment on dogs was similar to mankind being a reference to men and women and boys and girls. Horses, goats and sheep also give warning. I am certain many others do as well.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 2 people