Fire Alarm Control Panel Instructions to Stop beeping:

 

 

Whenever there is a power outage, the alarm box will go to backup battery power.  This will cause the panel to beep.  Eventually the battery will be drained of power and need to be replaced.  Your home may also be without fire protection if this should happen.  To reset alarm, stop the beeping and turn the unit back to AC power is very simple:

 

Open Red panel door

Press the SILENCE button

Press the RESET button

 

 The display should clear and the beeping should stop.  If the alarm box does not reset and continues to beep, contact The Board of Managers at Board@cobnews.com as soon as possible so that a technician can come out and inspect the panel.  There may be a more serious problem.

 

 

Re-wiring Power to Control Panels

 

Several homeowners have had questions about the fire alarm panels.  Each building has one control panel which controls the heat and smoke detectors for the four units in that building.  The panels were originally wired separately from the units.  Over the years, the wires leading to these boxes have corroded underground and a new method was needed to supply power to them.  Rather than run lines under driveways and roads at a great expense, the most cost effective way for the condominium was to hardwire the fire panel to the nearest Unit circuit panel box.  The power to these boxes is minimal and similar to the low voltage used to power your doorbell.

During a power outage, the panels will make a buzzing noise to alert you that the unit is running on backup batteries.  Usually a simple reset will correct the problem if the lights have gone off and back on.  If this does not correct the problem, it is important that the managing agent be notified immediately so that a technician can come out to investigate.

These fire panels are NOT connected to a monitoring system.  The fire and or police will not be called when an alarm occurs.  These alarms are only meant to awaken and notify the people in the building that a fire has been detected.  Someone must dial the fire department to come in the event of a real emergency.

Lastly, the majority of the detectors in the units are heat detectors.  Each unit has ONE smoke detector from what we can see.  You may want to invest in additional smoke detectors for your unit for earlier notification of a fire.  The time necessary to set off one of the heat detectors is much greater than the time to set off a smoke detector.

Please direct any further questions to the Board of managers.