Battery Off Without You

The mission Arba and Lucy had chosen to accept was to do a change some batteries for Mr J’s fire alarms. Poor old Mr J had three fire alarms in his flat, and he was pretty sure two of them needed batteries changing as there had been a lot of beeping coming from overhead.

Mr J explained that he had tried to have a look but the alarms were high on the ceiling and he had struggled to reach. The beeping was relentless - at one point the alarm was beeping every 4 seconds! Not only was it causing him grief, it was also starting to cause a bit of an alarm for his neighbours. He would be battery off without the beeps.

So two of Hammersmith & Fulham’s finest turned up. Mr J welcomed us in and showed up the ropes, or, in this case, the fire alarms. As we walked up the steps we could hear a beep. And then another... And another...

We had deduced that the kitchen was the guilty culprit. Mr J provided us with a step ladder and a screwdriver, and Lucy climbed up to have a look. After a bit of prodding and poking, the detector was loosened off and Arba did a blazing job of changing the battery. Lucy secured it back in place, tested the alarm, and then we waited.

Silence. No beeping coming from this fire alarm!

We then decided it would be a good idea to change all the batteries, as the one in the hall way sounded like it might have been a bit suspect too. So we repeated the move - ladder in dining room, Lucy went up, Arba changed the batteries and then it was put back on the ceiling. On to the third and final detector, which was the more testing of the three.

The hallway had much higher ceilings, and we had the added challenge of doing it in the dark, as the lights had gone here too! Mr J held up a lamp for us, and Arba held the ladder in a stable position as Lucy went up. Luckily, she could just about reach from the top step, but it was a little precarious - especially as we were on the landing right next to the stairs!

The third alarm beeped as it came down, so it was definitely worth changing. Final battery changed over and final replacement of the detector into its cradle on the ceiling. Lucy clambered down for the final time, and we stood in silence, waiting in anticipation for a beep which thankfully never came!

Mr J was delighted in both senses, as he put his lamp down and thanked us for our tremendous hard work. As we left he said we had brightened up his day, and he enjoyed our company for the short time we were with him. Hands cleaned, a quick post-mission selfie (as socially distanced as we could) and we parted ways, just like Mr J and his noisy alarm!