Do smoke detector battery change with fall time change

Friday, October 19, 2007

The Kansas State Fire Marshal is urging all citizens to “Change Your Clock Change Your Battery.” Change the battery in all smoke detectors; they do save lives, but only those that have been properly installed and maintained will do the job.

Communities nationwide witness tragic home fire deaths each year. An average of three children per day die in home fires and 80 percent of those occur in homes without working smoke alarms. Non-working smoke alarms rob residents of the protective benefits home fire safety devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of non-working smoke alarms is worn or missing batteries. Changing smoke alarm batteries at least once a year is one of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths and injuries in fact; working smoke alarms nearly cut in half the risk of dying in a home fire. Additionally, the International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends replacing your smoke alarms every ten years,

To save lives and prevent needless injuries in Kansas, the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office has joined forces with Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs for the 30th year of the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery campaign. The program urges all Americans to adopt a simple, lifesaving habit: changing smoke alarm batteries when changing clocks back to standard time each fall, this year on Nov. 4.

“The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 a.m. and 6 a.m., when most families are sleeping,” says State Fire Marshal, Jack Alexander. “Smoke alarm maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths Children and senior citizens are most at risk, and a working smoke alarm can give them the extra seconds they need to get out safely,” In addition. Alexander recommends residents use the “extra” hour they save from the time change to test smoke alarms by pushing the test button, planning “two ways out” and practicing escape routes with the entire family. Families should also prepare a fire safety kit that includes working flashlights and fresh batteries.