he assumed the unit was defective
Not uncommon. There was a New England MD that did the same thing several years ago. Unplugged the unit, then went to work, Came home to dead wife and kids.
How many times have you read fire reports with “no working smoke detectors in residence” included in the report.
Common sense is less common every day.
If you think that when your various and assorted detectors are defective every time they go off ... why have them? Go with your instincts and see were that gets you.
My own story:
About 20 years ago I was eating lunch with my wife in our kitchen when the smoke alarm went off in the hallway. My first reaction, what the hell is wrong with that damn thing now?”
I walk into the hallway and the bathroom is on fire. The vent fan had stalled and set itself on fire.
Wife calls 911, I get the dry chem and extinguish the fire.
About $2,000 in damage, but another 2 or 3 minutes and it would have been beyond the point where I could control it with the extinguisher.
Talk about a life lesson.