Itsy Bitsy Spider Blamed For Alarm Activation

It was a mystery why the smoke alarm was going off when two roommates returned to their apartment early Friday morning. The detector was sounding in the hallway but there were no signs of fire or smoke. Believed to be a combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector, the duo immediately left the apartment and called for the Madison Fire Department.
 
Engine Company 9 headed over to check out the situation. Their monitors showed no carbon monoxide in the air, and all other readings were normal. Firefighters noted that none of the other detectors in the apartment were activating. They took down beeping detector and learned it was smoke alarm with no carbon monoxide detection capabilities.
 
Suspecting it might be defective, firefighters explained that detectors can go bad due to age, or they can be set off by dust, humidity... even bugs!
 
Since this particular detector was equipped with a tamper-proof battery, one firefighter pulled the deactivation tab to make it stop. As the crew spoke with the tenants about replacing the alarm, a small spider came crawling out.
 
“The spider must have been the problem,” reports the company officer, who does not suffer from arachnophobia.
 
The roommates thanked Engine 9 for their help. Now they could sleep soundly knowing their bedrooms were still protected by working smoke detectors—and a new, spider-free detector would be on its way in the morning.