Sunday, March 11 is Daylight Saving Time. It’s time to “Spring Forward” one hour. You know what that means, change your clocks, and check your smoke alarms!
While phones, computers, and tablets may change themselves, it’s up to you to keep yourself and your family safe by changing your smoke alarm batteries. Smoke alarms do not last forever. Take care of your smoke alarms according to the manufacturer's instructions. Replace the batteries at least once every year. Replace the entire smoke alarm every 10 years. In addition, smoke alarms should be tested monthly, and batteries should be replaced when they begin to chirp, signaling that they’re running low.
An alarm should be installed on every floor of your home, in every bedroom, and outside of all sleeping areas. Here are some tips to installing smoke alarms:
• Best place to mount your smoke alarm is on the ceiling
• Keep smoke alarms at least 4-6 inches away from the nearest wall
• Always test your newly installed smoke alarm
• If you cannot mount the alarm on the ceiling, install it high on the wall 4-12 inches from the ceiling
• It’s simple: the more alarms you have, the greater your chances are of surviving a fire. Don’t skimp on smoke alarms around the home!
As well as working smoke alarms, every household should have an evacuation plan. Practice it! Make sure everyone knows how to get out and where to meet. Never go back inside a burning building! If someone is missing, inform the dispatcher when you call 911. Firefighters have the proper training to perform rescues.
A working smoke alarm can decrease a family’s risk of dying in a fire by nearly 50 percent. Batteries from household smoke alarms may be recycled at your nearest household hazardous waste recycling facility. For a list of household hazardous waste locations and additional fire safety information, visit www.sbcfire.org.
It’s also a good time to check those carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas created when fuels such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane are burned.
CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home and in other locations where required by applicable laws, codes or standards. For the best protection, interconnect all CO alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
Working smoke alarms and CO detectors save lives, that tell-tale beeping can get everyone out safely and avoid tragedy. Visit NFPA Public Information to learn more about smoke alarms, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for more information on CO detectors.