When you move into or buy a new home, no one hands you a guide to how the smoke detectors work. They "chirp," which really means shriek loudly, and you occasionally have to put new batteries in them.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Properly installed smoke detectors are often the first line of defense against a house fire, keeping the homeowner informed and ...

An ear-splitting smoke alarm siren is one of the worst midnight surprises. But it's even worse when your detector keeps beeping in the middle of the night but then stops and acts perfectly normal ...