Change clocks & smoke alarm batteries 11/5/17

Fire departments nationwide are promoting the annual “Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery” campaign on Sunday, November 5, 2017.

This simple practice of changing smoke alarm batteries can be a life-saver. Doing it when you change clocks back from daylight saving time to standard time makes is easier to remember.

Since 1987, the International Association of Fire Chiefs has joined forces with Energizer batteries to spread the message that non-working smoke alarms are responsible for needless home fire deaths and injuries. Now, 30 years later, thanks to the Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery campaign, home fire deaths continue to decline.

Surveys conducted for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Consumer Products Safety Commission found that 96% of all homes have at least one smoke alarm, but only 75% have at least one working smoke alarm. Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with either no smoke alarms or non-working smoke alarms. Smoke alarm failures usually result from missing or dead batteries or disconnected wires. The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when most families are sleeping; a working smoke alarm provides critical extra time needed to get people out safely.

According to the NFPA, the maximum life cycle of a smoke alarm is 10 years from the date of manufacture, not the date of installation. Beginning in 2002, all smoke alarms must have a manufacture date marked on the outside of the smoke alarm. If your smoke alarm does not have a manufacture date, then it is more than 10 years old and must be replaced. Purchasing smoke alarms with 10-year lithium batteries is recommended. All smoke alarms should be tested monthly.