Get ready to fallback for daylight saving which ends promptly at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3.
TOMS RIVER – Not only will you gain an hour of sleep and have to readjust microwave oven clocks and your vehicle timepieces one hour behind but local fire departments are reminding residents that while you changing your clocks, you also need to change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
A few statistics from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) include the following:
- Roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or working smoke alarms.
- When smoke alarms should have worked but failed to operate, it is usually because batteries were missing, disconnected, or dead.
Kevin Esposito, Chief Inspector of the Township’s Fire Prevention Bureau said that “on average families have less than three minutes from the time the first smoke alarm sounds to escape from a fire. In the event of a fire, a properly installed and maintained smoke alarm can alert you and your loved ones to the danger of smoke and give you and your family the critical extra seconds to make a safe escape.”
The NFPA states that dead batteries are the cause of 24 percent of smoke alarm failures. “To protect your family from a home fire, replace the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms when you adjust your clocks twice a year,” said Esposito.
[adrotate banner="278"]Esposito added, “consider your smoke alarms to be the most important clocks that need to be changed in your home. Replacing a smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old is also recommended.”
The fire chief also stressed the importance of making sure your house number is visible from the road. “In case of an emergency, this greatly helps first responders find your home quickly.”
For further information about fire safety, contact the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention at 732-240-5153 or online at trfireprevention.com
