Apartment building fire alarm

Off The Record

Hi,
Does anyone know who I can call or anyway to get a fire alarm disabled in a communal apartment block? There is no management company and currently no one can get a hold of their landlords. Can any emergency servives help do you know? Weve had this alarm ringing solid for a whole day now! Many thanks.

Victor

Check the alarm panel to see where / what it is reporting.

Check if there is a source of smoke / fire / excess heat or indeed large amounts of dust. Ventilate that space.

Check if there is a reset option on the alarm control panel.

Check the power supply - has the fuse tripped?

Are there supplier / installer details on the alarm panel.

Phone your local fire brigade on their ordinary number (NOT 999) - for all of Dublin City and County, that is (01) 673 4000.

Lantus

the panel may be standard and have instructions online. A local company may offer some free advice.

the reset button may be of use. If there is no management company then who maintains and looks after it?

Santa Cruz

A delay in paying the rent will have the landlord turning up.

odds_on

Santa Cruz wrote: »

A delay in paying the rent will have the landlord turning up.

If you ever have to withhold the rent, you should put it in a separate (holding) account as proof that it is there waiting to be paid.

However, as there is no management company, I would be worried that the building itself is not insured.

The_Morrigan

Santa Cruz please do not encourage the withholding of rent without the prior consent from the landlord. /mod.

OP there is often a contact number on the alarm control panels, but I would follow the advice given by Victor to ensure there isn't an immediate threat to the building.

MrPicante

Fire alarms should not be disabled under any circumstances - they are there to save lives. However, it sounds as if the fire alarm should be services by a qualified engineer.

Next steps:

1. Inspect the fire alarm panel and look for the certification of inspection - the contract company should have their details ie. name, date of last inspection (not more than 12 weeks), engineer sign off etc.
2. If this is not available or within clear view it is most likely the alarm is or has not been inspected - contact the management company/committee and make them aware of the issue
3. Do not interfere with the alarm system, regardless of what you read online etc - you are not a qualified engineer and could potentially liable yourself in the event of an accident.

If the issue is not resolved ASAP contact the NSAI.

Brian

Santa Cruz

How do you mean there is no management company? Somebody must be paying for refuse collection, lighting in common areas etc. As for not being able to contact landlords who did ye rent the property from? Is your tenancy registered with PRTB? Who are you paying rent to?

the_syco

Santa Cruz wrote: »

Somebody must be paying for refuse collection, lighting in common areas etc.

A direct debit could be paying for these, with no MC involvement.

Santa Cruz wrote: »

As for not being able to contact landlords who did ye rent the property from? Is your tenancy registered with PRTB? Who are you paying rent to?

Has nothing to do with the MC.

=-=

OP; get the alarm checked out. Could be nothing, but could be a recurring issue which people are ignoring as "it's not their problem". If the alarm is turned off, check if the problem was just ignored, or if it was fixed.

Valentine1

There will be a number on the Alarm console of the management agent, call them and they will send an engineer.

djimi

I think people are reading this one incorrectly; the impression that I get from the OP is that one of their neighbours alarms has been going off and they cant get hold of the landlord to go in and shut if off.

The_Morrigan

djimi wrote: »

I think people are reading this one incorrectly; the impression that I get from the OP is that one of their neighbours alarms has been going off and they cant get hold of the landlord to go in and shut if off.

Apartment blocks have communal fire alarms though, independent fire alarms in apartments would be useless.

djimi

The_Morrigan wrote: »

Apartment blocks have communal fire alarms though, independent fire alarms in apartments would be useless.

Youre right, sorry, I was thinking house alarm...

Victor

djimi wrote: »

I think people are reading this one incorrectly; the impression that I get from the OP is that one of their neighbours alarms has been going off and they cant get hold of the landlord to go in and shut if off.

Most alarm systems in shared buildings are centrally controlled.