Crime & Safety

Change Your Clock, Change Your Smoke Detector Batteries

With Daylight Saving Time comes the reminder to change the batteries in your smoke detector.

With the March 13 Daylight Saving Time change (move your clock forward one hour at 2 a.m.) comes the biannual reminder that can save your life: change the batteries in your smoke detector.

Gary Madej said the tradition can be a lifesaver.

“We try to connect twice a year (with the time change),” Madej said. “You should change your battery twice a year.”

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It may seem obvious, but out-of-date and dead batteries in a smoke detector can lead to lethal situations, especially if a fire breaks out at night.

“When a fire occurs at night and a person is sleeping, they aren’t going to see smoke and it can overtake them,” Madej said.

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Madej said smoke inhalation facilitates deep sleep, further preventing a person from awaking and escaping.

The campaign isn’t just local.

Ohio's Interim State Fire Marshal Donald Cooper is reminding all Ohioans to make the change.

"The facts speak clearly – only a working smoke detector can save your life," Cooper said in a press release. "Ohioans can greatly reduce tragic fire deaths and injuries by performing the simple task of replacing smoke detector batteries. By taking the time to change the batteries and by testing them monthly, you are doing more to affect the fire safety of your family and home than any other action you could take."

The campaign is in conjunction with the United States Fire Protection Association (USFA) and Ohio's fire departments.

Cooper said Ohio firefighters still find that smoke detectors are often not present in homes. As of March 1 this year, 28 Ohioans have died in 22 fatal residential fires. Cooper reported that smoke detectors were confirmed present in 10 (45 percent) of those fires and functioning in only 1 (5 percent) of the incidents.

 The Division of State Fire Marshal recommends testing smoke detectors at least once each month to ensure that they are working properly. Residents should also vacuum the dust from inside the detector at least once every year.

The Division also recommends changing the battery when the detector "chirps" to signal low battery power and batteries should never be removed to use for another device.

For more information about smoke alarms and fire safety tips, visit www.com.ohio.gov/fire.


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