NEWS
Fire departments seeing increase in false fire alarms due to work on flood-damaged homes
The Daily Advertiser
Fire departments are seeing an increase in the amount of false fire alarms in homes over the past few days, a result of construction work in flood-damaged homes, according to the Lafayette Fire Department.
The false alarms are happening because of the dust created when removing sheetrock, according to LFD Public Information Officer Alton Trahan.
To avoid setting off your alarm while removing sheetrock from your home, Trahan advises taking one of the following steps:
- During the demolition and renovation phases, while the structure is occupied, owners can place their fire alarm in test mode by calling the monitoring company before any work is performed. Once you are finished, for that day, you will need to call the monitoring company again and have them take the system out of test mode.
- You can also shield alarms from dust particles by bagging the smoke alarm while work is being performed, and while the house is occupied. Make sure to remove the bag when you are finished for the day.