Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries

Smoke Alarms & Fire Safety

What does this mean and what does it have to do with fire safety?

We all know that Smoke Alarms (Detectors) can save lives when operating properly. There are many types, however most smoke alarms are battery operated or have battery backup features. It is important to test your alarms each month to assure that they are in working order.

Batteries

We also need to be sure the battery has adequate power to operate the alarm. Smoke alarms have a monitoring system for the battery and start chirping when the battery is low. All of this sounds great and foolproof, however several lives have been lost due to nonworking smoke alarms. Many were found without batteries in them. The Reason? Maybe someone took the battery for a game or radio, or removed the battery to stop the chirping or maybe they were going to replace it and forgot. Because of these findings the program "Change Your Clock - Change Your Battery" was developed. If everyone follows this program they should never be subject to a non-working smoke detector due to a missing or weak battery. The Action is simple and we are reminded each year at Daylight savings time.

Daylight Saving Time

Each year we change our clocks. In the spring (March) we move them ahead 1 hour and in fall (November) we move them back 1 hour. Each time we do this we need to change the battery in all the smoke alarms. If a specific battery type is recommended then that's the 1 to use. Whether 1 is recommended or not, always be sure you are purchasing a fresh battery. Those available at a garage sale or flea market may be old stock. Always check the dates on the battery.

Lifespan

The life of a smoke detector is 10 years. If your detector is 10 years old or older, it should be replaced. Remember, properly working smoke alarms can save lives! 

There are smoke detectors you can purchase and install that have a 10 year battery in them, and if that is the case you would not need to change the batteries as often as suggested above. 

CO Alarms

All of the information above would apply to CO detectors.