Comedy or Reality

All right. I have to admit after it was all over with and I had time to think about it, the idea of killing the smoke alarm with the mop while on top of the step ladder did seem like an act out of Three's Company or one of the other popular sit-coms that have been on TV. But in reality it was a very serious situation. The noise was driving me crazy as it was driving my dogs and cats crazy. I was 'home alone', and it was between 4 and 5 AM. Not a time you want to wake up nearby friends or relatives.
I was able to take care of the problem. But what if I hadn't been able to? Would I and my pets have been subjected to that horrific sound until a decent time to call for help? I considered going outside. It's January, and cold outside. What about leaving for a while? Yes, I considered that, and I could have taken the dogs. But not the cats. They are indoor cats so it wouldn't have done to just throw them out. To my way of thinking if my pets couldn't get away from the noise, neither could I. So I stayed and solved the problem. I now have a new smoke alarm at a 7 foot height that I can reach easily from a short step stool.
Then I got to considering the situation from different directions. What if I had been handicapped? Maybe in a wheelchair, or on cruches, or blind? The only thing a handicapped or elderly person could do was disturb someone so early in the morning.
Which makes me wonder why the state housing code makes it mandatory that builders put the smoke alarm so high up in a room with high ceiling's I can reach the ones in my bedrooms that only have a 7 foot ceiling. And don't tell me it is high to catch the smoke when there is actually a fire. If there is a real fire the smoke should pass by the alarm at 7 feet before it reaches the one at 12 feet.
I am sure it can be just as dangerous for someone to be fighting with an alarm that is just 'chirping' (as it is called) the battery warning, as it could be in a fire. I could have fallen from the ladder. As it was I sprained my knee slightly.
So, please, consider moving the smoke alarm or any thing that might be similar to a more realistic place in yours or a loved ones home. I would hate to hear about some dying because the smoke alarm low battery warning was being obnoxious.