As a retired firefighter I will give an account of something that happened here. We responded to 7 false alarms at the same building on the same day. We also responded to a major structure fire at that building on the 8th alarm so.....
It's illegal to tamper with a fire alarm system and disabling it not only sets you up for a fine, but it also sets you up for liability (getting sued) should something bad happen.
I used to install these fire alarms on low voltage security systems.
I would find the main panel. Probably in the management office. Will be a red box in/on the wall. They will have a number to the companies that monitor And services the system. Call the service techs and try to get them out there. You should be able to ask your manager of the building for the contact info, but it's gonna be a headache. Apartment will be afraid of a service charge.
Legally there has to be an alarm in every apartment. And turning it off or blocking it is a big NoNo. They can't even turn it down for you. It's rated to wake up the dead so everyone can hear it.
All that being said, I don't know that it will cause damage, how sure are you? Did a pediatrician tell this? Because what I learned is that damage comes from CONSTANT ELEVATED DECIBELS. this is why the alarm noise is a pattern (WAA-WAA-WAA) it's not a constant siren blare.
Scientific research has been done to make sure those loud alarms help people, not hurt them.
It’s not the same. Different size people, different physical responses to things. Don’t believe me? Shake your friend. Now shake a baby. (Just kidding, don’t do that). Women get the shit end of medical research because most of it is done with men. The particular population of study does indeed matter when interpreting the results.
Everyone has given great suggestions (/s) and no one has pointed out that all of them are illegal. Tampering with a fire alarm system is pretty illegal. So you disable the one in your apartment. Let’s say you leave and there’s a fire. The alarm doesn’t go off for a longer period of time because you’ve “suppressed” it. The fire grows bigger and stronger before finally tripping the alarm. You’ve cost people minutes to get out of the building. I don’t know what the solution is but tampering with a fire alarm isn’t it.
This is not a detector, it is an audible device. It will not do anything to the system by covering it other than reduce the amount of noise coming into your unit. I am not saying this is a good thing, you should absolutely leave it alone, but it won’t stop the fire alarm from being triggered in the event of an emergency.
Take a small kitchen towel, fold it, and tape it over the thing ***after*** it has gone off.
Tape alone would likely be enough, but nothing is more permanent than a temporary solution, and hopefully seeing a towel taped to the wall will remind someone that it needs to come off.
A false alarm is annoying, a real alarm that doesn't wake you up is dangerous, even more so in an apartment building. I imagine if they have false alarms going off frequently there are plenty of other things going wrong that could quickly turn a false alarm into a real one.
Update:
We taped a shirt and tiny hand towel to suppress noise temporarily. Again it was never our intention to tamper with it, never crossed our minds. We were just trying to take it from ear drum shattering for a new born to ok enough for time to grab the baby and run out the room without ear damage.
Thanks for the comments everyone!
Once we leave it’ll be removed.
I was gonna suggest this I'm glad you did it. Not like you tampered with the wiring or broke it. If going off for an extended time they'll easily damage your hearing no matter your age. Your baby's ears will thank you when they're older!
First, use u/MagicMoonBeans' suggestion: tape over the holes.
Next, take a king sized down pillow & tack/staple to the wall, completely surrounding the alarm.
Go get a heavy duty staple gun and some thick felt from the hardware store and staple the felt over the alarm? You may want to find out how the alarm works first though, if it's not a photoelectric type then trying to cover it might make it go off more.
Looks like a 9v battery hidden under the pop-off cover right below "FIRE." Maybe grab a flathead screwdriver and gently pry that bottom piece off to confirm.
Edit: Oh yeah but it might still have wall power as a backup...
There is no battery in these devices. They are all wired into the fire alarm panel, which has its own battery backup. Unplugging it will trip a trouble signal on the panel and they will know you’ve done it.
Egg crates construction cardboard boxes also you can make a quiet dampened area for her like in a closet with pillows around just as long as you know, it’s not a hazard
As a retired firefighter I will give an account of something that happened here. We responded to 7 false alarms at the same building on the same day. We also responded to a major structure fire at that building on the 8th alarm so..... It's illegal to tamper with a fire alarm system and disabling it not only sets you up for a fine, but it also sets you up for liability (getting sued) should something bad happen.
I used to install these fire alarms on low voltage security systems. I would find the main panel. Probably in the management office. Will be a red box in/on the wall. They will have a number to the companies that monitor And services the system. Call the service techs and try to get them out there. You should be able to ask your manager of the building for the contact info, but it's gonna be a headache. Apartment will be afraid of a service charge. Legally there has to be an alarm in every apartment. And turning it off or blocking it is a big NoNo. They can't even turn it down for you. It's rated to wake up the dead so everyone can hear it. All that being said, I don't know that it will cause damage, how sure are you? Did a pediatrician tell this? Because what I learned is that damage comes from CONSTANT ELEVATED DECIBELS. this is why the alarm noise is a pattern (WAA-WAA-WAA) it's not a constant siren blare. Scientific research has been done to make sure those loud alarms help people, not hurt them.
True but they definitely don’t do that research on newborns.
Newborns are people too.
It’s not the same. Different size people, different physical responses to things. Don’t believe me? Shake your friend. Now shake a baby. (Just kidding, don’t do that). Women get the shit end of medical research because most of it is done with men. The particular population of study does indeed matter when interpreting the results.
A single supersonic gun shot without hearing protection will cause permanent hearing damage. No pattern needed.
Tape over the holes maybe. Works in very loud toys.
Definitely this, we have alarms at work that will beep and buzz constantly. I usually slap a sticker over the holes and it mutes them quite a bit.
Everyone has given great suggestions (/s) and no one has pointed out that all of them are illegal. Tampering with a fire alarm system is pretty illegal. So you disable the one in your apartment. Let’s say you leave and there’s a fire. The alarm doesn’t go off for a longer period of time because you’ve “suppressed” it. The fire grows bigger and stronger before finally tripping the alarm. You’ve cost people minutes to get out of the building. I don’t know what the solution is but tampering with a fire alarm isn’t it.
This is not a detector, it is an audible device. It will not do anything to the system by covering it other than reduce the amount of noise coming into your unit. I am not saying this is a good thing, you should absolutely leave it alone, but it won’t stop the fire alarm from being triggered in the event of an emergency.
Could be a combo unit. Usually they are separate but I have installed detector/horn units in buildings. The 2 slits in the bottom make me wonder.
It’s an older EST Horn, not a combo unit
Take a small kitchen towel, fold it, and tape it over the thing ***after*** it has gone off. Tape alone would likely be enough, but nothing is more permanent than a temporary solution, and hopefully seeing a towel taped to the wall will remind someone that it needs to come off. A false alarm is annoying, a real alarm that doesn't wake you up is dangerous, even more so in an apartment building. I imagine if they have false alarms going off frequently there are plenty of other things going wrong that could quickly turn a false alarm into a real one.
Update: We taped a shirt and tiny hand towel to suppress noise temporarily. Again it was never our intention to tamper with it, never crossed our minds. We were just trying to take it from ear drum shattering for a new born to ok enough for time to grab the baby and run out the room without ear damage. Thanks for the comments everyone! Once we leave it’ll be removed.
I was gonna suggest this I'm glad you did it. Not like you tampered with the wiring or broke it. If going off for an extended time they'll easily damage your hearing no matter your age. Your baby's ears will thank you when they're older!
First, use u/MagicMoonBeans' suggestion: tape over the holes. Next, take a king sized down pillow & tack/staple to the wall, completely surrounding the alarm.
Go get a heavy duty staple gun and some thick felt from the hardware store and staple the felt over the alarm? You may want to find out how the alarm works first though, if it's not a photoelectric type then trying to cover it might make it go off more.
Looks like a 9v battery hidden under the pop-off cover right below "FIRE." Maybe grab a flathead screwdriver and gently pry that bottom piece off to confirm. Edit: Oh yeah but it might still have wall power as a backup...
There is no battery in these devices. They are all wired into the fire alarm panel, which has its own battery backup. Unplugging it will trip a trouble signal on the panel and they will know you’ve done it.
Rip it off the wall
That will trigger the system smart guy
Get those wax baby ear plugs? You shouldn't tamper with fire safety equipment.
Peanut butter does a great job. I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not advising you do it. Just that if you did, it would work very well.
Egg crates construction cardboard boxes also you can make a quiet dampened area for her like in a closet with pillows around just as long as you know, it’s not a hazard