Daylight Savings Time arrives at 2 a.m. Sunday — so it’s time to “spring ahead” one hour.
While fewer and fewer timekeeping devices in our lives require manual adjustment these days, fire officials remind us that we still need to remember to change the batteries in our smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. These should be changed twice a year when the clocks are changed.
When working smoke alarms are present, the chance of dying from a fire is cut in half, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
But an estimated one-third of all installed smoke alarms are not functional, often due to failure to replace a worn out battery. And that’s dangerous. About two-thirds of fire deaths occur in homes with either no smoke alarms or smoke alarms that don’t work.
You should place smoke alarms on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas, and inside each bedroom.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors should be tested monthly and replaced every five years.
Carbon monoxide detectors range in price from about $17 to just under $50 and are available at hardware stores and other retailers. Battery-operated smoke detectors start at about $6.
