Blogging from the Highlands of Scotland
'From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step' - Diderot

Thursday 10 January 2008

Fire alarm frustrations!

I don't often write about the trivia of my life, but the past couple of days have been just a teensy-weensy bit frustrating. At about 10.30 pm on Tuesday evening the fire alarm in the building where I live went off - terrific racket, as you might imagine. A thorough check of the whole building by many people revealed nothing untoward so the system was reset and the building management company (aka the 'Factor) notified by email that night and action confirmed the next morning. A visit from the security alarm firm was already scheduled for next week for their regular check-up and it seemed impossible to bring this forward because of their own schedule being busy after the Christmas/New Year break. Moderately, if not entirely, satisfactory I suppose. When resetting the system we noted, however, that one particular sensor seemd to be the one which had triggered all the others.

Fast forward to about 7.20am this morning when the fire alarm went off again and one of the residents quite correctly in my view called the Fire Brigade, who turned up within about 5 minutes (it's only just up the road) and checked everything out, again finding nothing wrong, except that the same sensor seemed to have triggered the alarm. I was wakened by the noise of the alarm within a few minutes of the alarm going off and just as I was getting down to the main foyer (by the stairs, not the lift) in my dressing-gown the Fire Brigade were arriving. They advised us to get the system checked out urgently and that is where we are now - I have left a message with the security alarm people and also spoken with the factor's office - all this was early this morning, before office hours. Developments awaited.

UPDATE: (Thursday 10JAN08 10.25 GMT) I followed up my earlier telephone call to the factor with an email sent to her around 10am (when she gets into the office) and a few minutes later had a 'phone call from her. She has been on to the security alarm people who will now schedule a visit today; apparently they will have to disconnect the faulty sensor until the replacement can be fitted in a few days (it must be ordered apparently), so we'll just have to hope there isn't a real fire before that can be done.

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