Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, November 1 at 2:00 a.m. when most U.S. states fall back an hour.
When you change your clocks, change the batteries on your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors at the same time to protect your family and your home. Also check the manufacture dates. The National Fire Protection Association recommends replacing all smoke alarms every 10 years.
“Pushing the test button at least once a month and changing the battery at least once a year is the minimum requirement,” said Snoqualmie Fire Chief Mark Correira. “These simple devices can save your life and one of the best tools to warn families of a fire, especially when everyone is asleep.”
An info sheet about smoke alarms is available on the NFPA website (nfpa.org) as well as a fun educational fire safety booklet for children.
Following are some statistics about smoke alarm safety from a report by the NFPA.
- Dead batteries caused one-quarter (25%) of smoke alarm failures.
- In fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate, more than two of every five (43%) of the smoke alarms had missing or disconnected batteries.
- The death rate per 1,000 reported home fires was more than twice as high in homes that did not have any working smoke alarms (12.3 deaths per 1,000 fires), either because no smoke alarm was present or an alarm was present but did not operate), as it was in homes with working smoke alarms (5.7 per 1,000 fires).
As the time changes, please change the batteries.
Contact the Snoqualmie Fire Department at 425-888-1551 if you have any questions about smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detectors, or about fire and life safety.
# # #
Contact:
Joan Pliego
City of Snoqualmie
jpliego@snoqualmiewa.gov
425-281-3317