smoke detectors

As luck would have it, the smoke detectors began chirping around midnight Saturday night. After some difficulty getting to them (9 ft. ceilings), I got the batteries out. They were still chirping. After some more difficulty, I got them disconnected. They look ancient.

I put in an online maintenance request on Sunday. When I examined the back of the smoke detectors, I found the following note: "REPLACE IN 10 YEARS     2005 Dec. 30".

You may want to check your smoke detectors, folks. They are ancient.

It is interesting to note that the National Fire Protection Association says on its website that smoke detectors should be replaced when they are 10 years old. NFPA also states: "For many years NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, has required as a minimum that smoke alarms be installed inside every sleep room (even for existing homes) in addition to requiring them outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home." 

Our apartment has only two smoke detectors, both in a hallway, located about 10 feet apart. There are no other smoke detectors, including none in the bedrooms.

***UPDATE***

On Monday the man who responded to the maintenance request replaced the batteries in the two smoke detectors and remounted them. One chirped. I explained to him that the old batteries test OK and that the problem is with the smoke detector itself, not with the batteries. He removed the chirping smoke detector. I also showed him the back of the smoke detector that reads "REPLACE IN 10 YRS.   2005 Dec. 30", and told him that both smoke detectors need to be replaced. Although he did not respond, I believe that he understood me.

I also sent an email to Captain Tyler Cirillo, Code and Compliance, Prince William County VA Fire Marshal's Office, in which I cited the NFPA directives above, and asked him if smoke detectors are required in bedrooms at the Marque.

I received a reply from Captain Cirillo that says:"We need to research your questions and I will get back to you soon." 

There is a confidentiality statement in Captain Cirillo's reply that reads as follows: 

I've asked for clarification from Captain Cirillo if this applies to my neighbors at the Marque. I said: "Needless to say, some (of my neighbors at the Marque) are interested in knowing if the County requires that 10 year old smoke detectors be replaced per the manufacturer's instructions and if the County requires smoke detectors in the Marque apartment's bedrooms."

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Wednesday, 12/9/2015, 2:30 PM - two new smoke detectors installed in hallway. 

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I will paraphrase the County Fire Marshal's Office's response to my question (asking if smoke detectors are required in the Marque's bedrooms) when I receive it.

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12-21-15. The Fire Marshal's Office says that the Marque complied with 2005 PWC requirements when it was built, which did not require smoke detectors in bedrooms. The Fire Marshal's Office recommends that smoke detectors be installed in bedrooms; but, PWC cannot require the Marque to provide them.

All construction in the Commonwealth of Virginia must adhere to the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) and the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code (SFPC). If someone was so inclined, then they could research the requirements of these two codes in 2005. I'm not inclined to do so--you can't fight city hall.

The Marque apartments at Heritage Hunt 

Gainesville, VA 

property manager: Community Realty Company, Inc., Greenbelt, MD 

owners: Huntgain Marque, LLC 

Prince William County, VA Fire Marshal