ST. PAUL — State Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl urges everyone to put fresh batteries in home smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms this weekend, in accordance with the “Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries” campaign sponsored by the International Association of Fire Chiefs and Energizer batteries.
The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., when most people are sleeping. Last year in Minnesota, just 15 percent of fire deaths took place in homes where smoke alarms were known to be present and working.
According to Rosendahl, the most common reason smoke alarms don’t work is due to dead or missing batteries. Some people even remove them for other uses or to eliminate nuisance alarms. “They’re gambling with their lives,” Rosendahl says. “When fire strikes, working alarms and a good escape plan become life-or-death issues.”
In addition to changing alarm batteries this weekend, Rosendahl recommends the following simple steps:
• Dust or vacuum smoke alarms when you change batteries.
• Test alarms once a month using the test button.
• Replace the entire alarm if it’s more than 10 years old.
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, and place them inside and outside of sleeping areas.
• Interconnect the alarms in your home so that when one sounds, they all sound. Interconnected alarms are available at stores where alarms are sold.
• Make sure everyone in your home knows how to respond when smoke alarms sound.
Finally, prepare and practice an escape plan to get everyone out of your home safely, and be sure they understand that no one goes back into a burning building for any reason.
“Change smoke alarm batteries each time you turn your clocks back,” Rosendahl says. “It’s easy to remember, simple to do, and provides essential protection for your life and property.”
