"the cicada did it"

Oh, so many good titles for today's story.

"Truth IS stranger than fiction"

"Detector Disaster"

"Alarming News"

We have been battling Norovirus (severe gastroenteritis) for over a week. It went through (pun intended) 5 of 7 of us and it has been nasty. It seemed to hit us at night, so there have been many sleepless nights and LOTS of laundry to do. Also, lots of days missed from school.

(Insert Prologue here) 
Timeline: Christmas Eve 2011, we had to call our fire department because our smoke detectors were going off and we could not figure out why. Small town= dispatch of all 2 ladder trucks, fire chief truck, and police. Turns out one of the smoke detectors had expired and because they are all wired together, we could not shut them off.

Timeline: December, 2012, we had to call the fire department, because we had just put up our tree and the lights were having an electrical burning smell. We were afraid it would start on fire, so again: 2 ladder trucks, fire chief truck, police.

Note that in a small town like this, you see the police around every day. They direct the carpool line at school, so I wave and say "hi" to them all the time.
(end Prologue)

Timeline: Last night, 3am: We are still not feeling great, so due to a late nap for Andy, we were up till 11. Got a few hours sleep, only to be awakened at 3am by a really loud, high-pitched siren. At first, I thought it was the smoke detectors, but only one source of the sound was found: upstairs hallway. As I said, when our smoke alarms go off, they all go off all over the house and they beep. This was a solid, ear-splitting whine. Hubby and I are running around checking the smoke detectors, the carbon monoxide detectors, the security system, the fire sprinkler system (which also has a siren). Hubby checks the walk-up attic, the garage, the basement, the yard. The sound can be heard throughout the house, but is still loudest in the upstairs hallway.

We all go down to the family room, where the sound is less. Another weird thing is that the 2 lights at the top of the stairs went out this week and hubby had determined that it was the wiring, not the bulbs. These lights are right near the sound, as is a return duct for the upstairs heat (furnace in the attic). So, we start to wonder if wiring has been compromised and is somehow setting off a fire or security alarm- but in the wall??

 Finally, we don't know what to do but call the Emergency Dispatch (which is in the next town). Thankfully, he suggested sending one police officer instead of the whole fire department. So, the officer came and he couldn't figure it out either. It has now been over an hour of this siren sounding. The kids and I are waiting in the family room when Pete (17) says "I think a cicada did it- they can be very loud." We all laugh- "do you think there are cicadas in New England in February?" But really, I don't have a better explanation!!

Finally, the noise stops and hubby and Mr. Police Officer (thank God it's not one I know) come downstairs and Officer leaves. "What was it?? What was it??" we ask.

Hubby: "While Officer was checking the attic, I noticed there was a box on the floor outside Davy's room. It was his toy metal detector and it was going off."
Me: "Are you kidding? How could a toy be that loud??"
So, I guess we're covered with our 2013 Emergency Services visit. I just hope our adventure doesn't make out local paper's Police Log!