Are there any smoke alarms missing in your apartment? Back when smoke alarms had removable batteries in them, my tenants would sometimes remove the batteries when an alarm went off, usually while they were cooking. (The smoke alarm in my hallway does that all the time when I am using my broiler.) The problem was that some people would fail to put the batteries back in the smoke alarm when they were finished cooking. I have replaced all the smoke alarms in my rentals. Today, all the smoke alarms in my rentals have sealed battery compartments with non-removable batteries in them. It is now illegal to sell or install smoke alarms in California with removable batteries. So the new problem is this – when a smoke alarm goes off while someone is cooking, a tenant removes the whole smoke alarm from the ceiling and fails to put the alarm back when he is done – and even worse – he puts the alarm someplace where he can’t find it later. Are you missing a smoke alarm? Is there a smoke alarm base ring attached to your ceiling but with no smoke alarm on the ring? If so, let me know immediately. Smoke alarms really do save lives, but they can’t work if you remove them from your ceiling or lose them!
Mark Tarses Newsletter
