I have a fire almost every night, no alarm yet. I do not get much smoke in the house so I can't be sure. the few times i did get smoke in the house with my old alarm the alarm did go off. I would think the same for this one.
No. The purpose for all these 10 year monitors is to remove manual error like forgetting to change battery, or turning the switch off. So as the other people have also mentioned, it has a deactivate tab which will turn off the alarm, but it will disable the device completely, and you have to replace it with a new one.
#4 Can this be placed on a table rather than on a wall?
Yes, as long as you don't mind dying a horrible death. Hot air rises, so placing it on a table means it will alert you later than if you place it on the ceiling or on a wall close to the ceiling.
#5 What is the difference between retail and standard packaging?
Not entirely sure the difference. I most likely got retail packaging, which included the alarm cased in plastic surrounded by the original cardboard that would hang on a store shelf hanger. It looked like I had purchased the item in any retail store.
#6 Will this alarm go off every time I blow a candle? Anyone any experience with candles so far?
No, candles, incense and the like do not set off these detectors.
#7 How does the alarm activate? Can I activate it without screwing it to a wall?
This can be mounted on the wall or on the ceiling. It has a 10 year lithium battery which is the life of the alarm. You can test it without mounting it on the wall or ceiling. It has a photoelectric smoke sensor.
#8 Am I correct in assuming that if you set it off accidentally, you can remove it from the area without disabling it with the tab?
Yes, just twist it off its mounting and you can take it out. You also do not have to put it on a wall, you can put on a shelf.
#9 Is there some trick, little tab you have to pull or twist for these to work? I bought six, opened one, held the test button down and nothing happened.
Mine had a plastic strip covering the battery that needed to be removed.
First Alert
Owner manual PDF of First Alert P1010 Photoelectric Smoke Detector | 10 Year Sealed Battery Backup.