The National Fire Protection Agency reports that almost two thirds of all fire deaths occur in a home with no smoke alarms or in a home in which the smoke alarm isn't operational.
Barrow County Emergency Services has issued a press release urging residents to address this issue as they adjust to Daylight Savings Times.
“When you change the time on your clocks this weekend we want to ask you to change the batteries in your smoke alarms,” commented Lieutenant Scott Dakin in the release. “We also ask that you clean your smoke alarms and test them to make sure they are in good working order. We know without any doubt that a working smoke alarm saves lives.”
Everyone should have one working smoke alarm on each floor and recommendations have been made that residents should place one in each bedroom and outside each sleeping area of the home. Alarms can even be interconnected so that if one alarms, all alarm. According to Barrow County Emergency Services the alarms should be replaced every ten years.
“Working smoke alarms more than double your chances of surviving a house fire. They are an integral part of keeping your family safe and should be maintained properly,” stated Lieutenant Dakin. “Changing your batteries is an important part of keeping them working and an easy way to remember to do that is to change them when you the time changes.”
