Fire Safety: Set Your Clocks Ahead & Check Your Smoke Detectors!

3/10/2021 (Permalink)

As you move your clock forward this weekend, check and/or change the batteries in your smoke detectors.

This is your friendly reminder that Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend - we will be springing ahead and setting our clocks forward on 3/14 at 2 AM. Are you looking forward to longer daylight hours, or upset about losing that hour of sleep on Saturday night?

It's a smart fire safety practice to get in the habit of inspecting your smoke detectors at least twice a year when you set your clocks forward in the spring and back in the fall. Smoke detectors are something we don't usually think about until we need them (unless they're going off when we're cooking!), but they can save lives! According to the National Fire Protection Association, the risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms. Half of home fire deaths happen between 11 pm and 7 am when people are asleep, so smoke detectors are the first line of defense to alert us to danger.

Smoke Detector Maintenance

- Check the manufacturer date on the unit. Smoke detectors should be changed out every 10 years.

- Smoke alarms should be installed in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home.

- Test the smoke alarm by pushing the test button, and replace the unit if needed. Ideally, test your smoke detectors monthly.

- Replace the batteries if it's not a hard-wired unit. Dead batteries mean that a smoke detector won't work. Don't remove the batteries for a false alarm and then forget about it, leaving you unprotected.

- If you have children, test the smoke detector in front of them and explain what the sound means so they're familiar with what to do if they wake up to that sound. Establish a fire safety plan with the whole family.

As fire damage restoration experts, we see the aftermath of home and commercial fires all too often. Prevention is the best strategy, so on Sunday morning, grab your coffee, change out all your clocks, and then check the smoke detectors in your home.