Not burning down the house

I' m not sure if the alarm woke me up, but I became aware of it as I gained consciousness. It sounded like a truck backing up, but it just kept going. I thought maybe it was an alarm clock that got left on even though the owner wasn't around to be awoken by it. Curious about its source, I got up and followed the noise. It was coming from the second floor of my apartment building, where the sound was much louder. It echoed between two doors in the hallway upstairs. It seemed like it must be the smoke detector going off. I tried knocking on the managers' door but, although I hear voices inside, I got no reply. So, I called. Got voicemail and left a message. I went back upstairs and felt the doors and walls near where the alarm was coming from. They were fine. Then, I uneasily began to get ready for my day, wondering what else it was I could do. Not long after, the alarm stopped. Then, my phone rang. It was Sonia, one of the managers, calling to let me know that it had been the smoke detector, that something had been left on, and that it was getting critical by the time she investigated. We shared our relief that all had gone well and that we'd been able to avert a real problem. Quite a way to start the day!

My take away from this is, "Shouldn't alarms be distinct enough that I don't confuse a back-up beep with an alarm clock with a smoke detector?" I'd think that would be pretty easy. I'd like to see a smoke detector that has the alarm and also has a voice going, "Smoke! Check out the smoke!" or something to that effect.