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About Firex Smoke Alarms
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Firex is a line of smoke and fire safety products developed by Kidde. Firex is known for its devices’ long-lasting batteries, and the brand is available from many retailers. Firex products can be expensive, but they’re highly functional and come with various smart home and power source options.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Extensive battery life
- Built-in lighting options
- Available from many retailers
Cons
- Expensive
- Compatibility issues with old models
Bottom Line
Firex offers long-lasting, highly functional fire safety devices for homes and businesses. Choose between power sources, sensory types and intelligent home features. Shop online or in-store to find the right device for your home.
What is Firex?
Firex is Kidde’s brand of hardwired and battery-powered smoke alarms and safety devices. It offers a wide variety of alarm types so homeowners and renters can customize their protection to their needs. Firex products can be used for homes and businesses, though Kidde also offers advanced-engineered alarm and fire suppression systems for large facilities.
Firex products
Firex offers a variety of smoke detectors to suit your home’s safety needs. Its power options include lithium batteries, 10-year batteries and hardwire. Its products also have multiple sensor types — its ionization sensors detect invisible fire particles, while its photoelectric sensors detect only visible particles. Firex also makes combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Its hardwired models have optional Wi-Fi connectivity through Kidde’s RemoteLync Bridge. This service creates an interconnected warning system that can alert you to fire, security or weather threats. Its smart devices can also provide information about battery life and sensor health. Note that Firex devices purchased before 2009 might be incompatible with the new models’ wire harnesses, however.
Firex costs
The suggested retail price for Firex alarms ranges from $65 to $250. Its battery-powered options typically are lower in price, while the hardwired LED models cost more. The combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms cost between $47.99 and $150. You can buy Firex detectors on Kidde’s website, from other online sellers and at major retailers like Walmart, Amazon, Menards, Home Depot and more. Pricing and discounts can vary significantly depending on the seller.
Firex FAQ
How long does a Firex smoke detector last?
Smoke detectors should be replaced every 8 to 10 years; battery-powered Firex smoke detectors are built to last 10 years.
Is Kidde compatible with Firex?
Yes, all Firex products manufactured after 2009 are compatible with Kidde components and smart home features. Firex smoke detectors can be monitored and controlled from the mobile app.
Do I need an electrician to install a Firex smoke detector?
You can install Firex battery-powered smoke detectors yourself, but you should have an electrician install the wired devices (this typically costs between $65 to $250).
Can I buy products directly from Firex’s website?
Firex products can be purchased directly from Kidde’s website. Its detectors are available from other online retailers, as well.
Is Firex legit?
Kidde is a legitimate fire and home safety company, and its Firex line offers a wide variety of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Each Firex device has special features, with various options for power type, sensors and smart home compatibility. You can buy Firex devices on Kidde’s website or from other major online and brick-and-mortar retailers.
Firex Smoke Alarms Reviews
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We replaced all 8 alarms less than a year ago and 2 of them have failed already. The company replaced the first but refused to do so on the second. On the second call the agent said, in response to hearing the explanation of the misbehavior by the unit, "oh that happens a lot". But still refused to replace the unit. I'm looking for other more trustworthy brands and better customer support.
13 of these bad boys were installed in our new home 2 years ago and installed by a professional. These are both hardwired in with a 9V battery backup. Alarms starting going off immediately with a very large Beep, and a women's voice saying "fire, fire", beep, beep, beep, "fire fire". We took all alarms down and clean them per instructions from Kidde as "there may be construction dust in the units". We also replaced all batteries with brand spanking new batteries, even through they came with battery backups in addition to the hardwiring, but per Kidde's instructions the batteries may need replaced.
Week after week the alarms would sound. Called Kidde for replacements and of course, they won't replace them, but want to run "tests" of which alarm is setting the other 12 off. So, one by one, when an alarm would go off (ALWAYS at 2am), we'd get up, remove the battery and the entire unit from the hardwire leave it unplugged for a few weeks and nothing would go off. Just when we would start sleeping, it would set off the whole system again. So for the past 2 years, we have "tested" each unit. Currently, we have 4 of our 13 units unplugged as we "think" they are the faulty ones, but there is nothing on the alarm itself to indicate an issue. The green light is on and then the wick red to indicate all is functioning properly.
This is absolutely dangerous. We never once have receive a beep, a verbal warning, or full red light to indicate a low battery, (which we have religiously replaced every 6 months in every unit with brand new batteries), but instead get the beep, beep, "fire, fire" beep beep. etc. This is an absolute risk to my family. Originally, the fire alarm would wake my entire household (4 total) and we'd all wake up, search the house, and prep for evacuation. Now I am the only one who even wakes up, because the "ALARM" is no longer an alarm, but rather a background noise. I have ran all the tests, cleaning, new batteries, and everything that Kidde has recommended. This is an absolutely ridiculous piece of junk that should be recalled and replaced. There should never be anything shouting Fire, fire if there is not fire.
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My alarms are all manufactured 2015, three of the 9 I have installed have released a smoke/soot stain to my painted walls and the crown moulding from the 12 o'clock position of the wall-mounted unit. I've used dry chemical sponge without success. Contacted customer service at Kidde and after 18 days am awaiting explanation and cause. The response I received 3 days ago after 2nd attempt to contact resulted in "never heard of the problem" and wanted more information and photos from me. Sent, still waiting. I haven't found any other consumers online complaining about this, but my handyman indicated that he's run into this as some emission from the ionization component. I just want to get these stains removed from my painted walls and crown moulding. Apparently Kidde customer services is not so interested.
We manage 8 Townhomes. All smoke detectors were replaced with this brand of FireX wired detector (i4618A) in 2017. The detectors were purchased at Home Depot and were manufactured in 2015-2016. In 3 Townhomes, I have had to replace all of them once again because they started up without reason blaring and the blaring would not stop until they were disconnected from the ceilings. There was no cause. One home was vacant at the time. The original replacements in 2017 cost us over $900. Then, we turn around less than 2 years later and spend over $300. Never again will we purchase FireX smoke detectors.
I moved into my new home 18 months ago. The builder installed Firex i4618A alarms. Recently the alarm in my bedroom starting tweeting at 3 am. Changed the batteries several times with no change. Garbage!
Like others have mentioned, my interconnected alarms started going off at 3:00 AM. We disconnected them, cleaned them, and replaced the batteries. It's now almost 8:00 AM and I have been up for hours trying to fix this problem. I'm going to disconnect them all and throw them away. My house is only 7 months old. These pieces of junk couldn't even last a year.
My fire alarm caught on fire! Yes, believe it or not. Two of my fire alarms went off this morning. When I rushed around looking for the problem, I found that another one of my alarms was smoking and sputtering with a small electrical fire inside the FX 1218 itself! I was able to blow out the flame inside the alarm, then turn off the electricity at the breaker. The fire was all contained within the alarm itself, but it smoked up the house pretty good. I am replacing all eight alarms in my home with another brand!
I have an issue with my Kidde fire alarm. I called their customer service number yesterday and after almost 1.5 hours waiting on the phone, I hung up. I emailed them and received a response that they will get back to me as soon as they can, but for urgent calls, call their customer service number. What a joke. I called back today and am currently still on hold after 47 minutes. Unacceptable.
My house was built in 2006 and has about 10 fire alarms. I left my home and forgot to turn off the stove. Two hours laters, my house was filled with smoke and none of the alarms chirped. Luckily, this was during the day when I was not home. Terrible smoke detector!
We purchased our two story home with the i4618 interconnecting alarms. They have gone off a time or two while cooking. On 1/5/18 we had a fire in our garage. I woke up to the smoke choking me. We were all sleeping. When I opened my bedroom door to investigate, the entire 2 stories were filled with thick smoke. The garage had an active fire and smoke so thick you could not see. NONE of the 10+ alarms installed sounded. If the smoke didn't wake me up, we could all have been killed. The fire department tested all alarms, and they were functioning when tested. This is deeply concerning. I am waiting for a response from Kidde regarding this issue, however given this experience I would NEVER recommend this brand.
Firex Smoke Alarms Company Information
- Company Name:
- Firex Smoke Alarms
- Website:
- www.kidde.com
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