Why were the Kidde brand smoke alarms recalled in 2014?

The Kidde smoke alarm recall stems from a power outage that occurs simultaneously with the system's once-per-minute sensor health check that kicks the alarm into "latched" mode, preventing it from functioning. Once the power comes back on, the latched alarms sound even if carbon monoxide or smoke is not present.

A signal from another alarm in the same interconnected system triggers the affected alarm. Customers should contact the manufacturer for a free replacement, but keep the old detector connected until the replacement arrives.

Three Kidde brand smoke alarms and combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, including the i12010S, i12010S-CO and KN-COSM-IBA models, were recalled on Sept. 11, 2014.