Change Your Clocks, Check Your Smoke Detector

Eight people die every day in a residential fire, according to the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District.

Many of those homes don't have working smoke detectors, adds the agency's spokeswoman Kim French. Having one in working order increases your chance of survival by nearly 50 percent, she said.

That's why the local fire department encourages the public to make a habit of changing a home's smoke detector batteries on the same day they reset their clocks for daylight savings.

Sunday, March 13, is "spring forward" for daylight savings, when everyone sets their clocks an hour ahead.

Here are a few tips French shared in time for Sunday's time change:

• Place a smoke detector on every level of your home, in every bedroom and in the hallways outside sleeping areas.
• Check smoke detectors monthly by pushing the test button. If you cannot reach the button use a broom handle.
• Change the batteries in your detectors twice a year – remember, change your clocks, change your batteries.
• Hard-wired smoke detectors with battery back-ups still need to be tested monthly and batteries replaced yearly.
• Teach children what the smoke detectors sounds like and what to do when they hear one.
• Never disable a smoke detector or remove the batteries.  Most of us wouldn’t ride in a car without a working seatbelt, and we should not sleep in a house without working smoke detectors.
• Smoke detectors wear out over time. Replace yours if it is over 10 years old.

Source: San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District