False fire alarm during the middle of the night.?

Question

My fire alarms are electronically connected to the house. The alarm upstairs has been chirping, which I assume means the battery needs to be changed. This morning, I was awakened at 4:30 to the sound of all of the alarms going off. (At least that's the way it sounded.) it lasted for a good 30 seconds and then stopped. This is the second time this has happened in a month. What is causing this? Is it connected to the battery situation? Thanks.

Answer 1

This is the proper operation of the system. What you hears was the low battery warning for the system. Change the batteries in all of the units, mark the date on each battery with a sharpie pen. This should solve the problem.  

Answer 2

The batteries are most likely just to back up.

Check the wire connections.

If you have loose or disconnected wire, it will cause all of the detectors to go "OFF".