This Daylight Savings Time Change Your Smoke Detectors Batteries

As the time change approaches on Sunday, March 14, 2010 the Loudoun County Fire-Rescue System wants to remind residents to make another change that could save their lives – changing the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

Communities nationwide witness tragic home fire deaths each year. Approximately every 3 hours a home fire death occurs somewhere in the nation and 80 percent of those occur in homes without working smoke alarms. Non-working smoke alarms deprive residents of the protective benefits home fire safety devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of non-working smoke alarms are worn or missing batteries. Additionally, many homes do not have adequate smoke alarms or have out-dated alarms that require replacing.

Changing smoke alarm batteries at least once a year is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths or injuries. In fact, working smoke alarms nearly cut in half the risk of falling victim to a home fire. Additionally, the Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management recommends replacing your smoke alarms every ten years.

To save lives and prevent injuries in Loudoun County, the Fire-Rescue system urges all citizens to adopt a simple, lifesaving habit: changing smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries when changing clocks forward each spring, this year on March 14. Households using the 10-year lithium smoke alarms are encouraged to test their alarms to ensure each one is functioning properly.

“The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most families are sleeping,” comments Chief Fire Marshal Keith Brower. “Smoke alarm maintenance is an easy way to reduce home fire deaths. Children and senior citizens are at twice the risk of losing their lives in a home fire. Sadly, approximately 1,000 children under the age of 10 die each year in house fires. Changing the batteries in smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors will increase the chance of home fire survival.”

In addition, Brower urges citizens to take advantage of the current smoke alarm program offered to Loudoun County residents. The fire department is providing free home smoke alarm inspections and replacements. Recently, two fires occurred in homes that took advantage of the department's smoke alarm program and residents were alerted by alarms installed by firefighters, allowing them to safely evacuate.

To obtain further information on the program or to request an install, contact the department hotline at 703-737-8093. More information also is available at www.loudoun.gov/smokealarms.

Posted by Charles Penifore on Mar 9 2010. Filed under Emergency Services. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry