A maintenance worker threw caution to the wind—literally—when he threw a faulty smoke detector that wouldn’t stop going off in a tenant’s home.
The surprising moment was captured on doorbell camera footage that has since gone viral on TikTok, posted by user @anonymousfl0. By Monday, the video had amassed over 3 million views.
“So I asked my maintenance man to come change my fire alarm while I was at work because it kept beeping and this is how he handled it,” @anonymousfl0 wrote in her video’s text overlay, along with a laughing emoji.
The clip shows the maintenance man exiting the tenant’s unit with the beeping fire alarm in hand. Rather than take it with him to properly dispose of it, he throws it as far as he can in the opposite direction. The fire alarm can still be heard going off in the distance as he walks away.
@anonymousfl0 I guess buddy was just as fed up as I was 😂 #tellmeyourhavingabadday #maintenceman #fyp ♬ original sound – AnonymousFlo
There are a few reasons why a smoke alarm may loudly beep or chirp when smoke isn’t present.
A smoke detector could be low on battery, the battery could have been installed improperly, or there may be dirt on the sensing chamber. Smoke alarms can also be faulty and still go off even when the batteries have been changed and the smoke chamber has been cleaned.
@anonymousfl0 had one theory as to what prompted the maintenance worker to throw the smoke detector. “I guess buddy was just as fed up as I was,” the caption read.
Rather than being alarmed at the man’s actions, commenters praised his creative solution.
“Work smarter not harder,” one user wrote.
“Bro said i got an even easier fix for this and cannoned it,” another commented with crying emoji.
A third commented, “The way you can still hear it.”
Since faulty smoke alarms can easily grind someone’s gears, there were other stories of maintenance workers going to unique lengths to put an end to the beeping.
“My maintenance man took a hammer to mine after hearing in my apt (he is my neighbor) then hearing it outside (where I threw it),” this user wrote.
Since smoke alarms are required by law in all residential dwellings, one commenter wondered if the maintenance man replaced the one that he threw away. @anonymousfl0 responded to the comment, confirming that the worker did bring her a new one.
The Daily Dot reached out to @anonymousfl0 via TikTok comment.
