"Change Your Smoke Detector Battery when you Changer your Clocks"

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. 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 fool proof, however several lives were lost
due to non-working 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.

Each year we change our clocks. In the spring (April) we move them ahead one hour
and in fall (October) we move them back one 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 thats the one to use. Whether one 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.

NOTE: The life of a smoke detector is 10 years.
If your detector is 10 years old or older, it should be replaced.
More on Smoke Detectors from NFPA