What does this mean and what does it have to do with fire safety?

When you change your clocks forward an hour this upcoming weekend (2AM on On Sunday, March 13, 2016), please remember to replace that batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. This attention to your detectors may save the life of yourself and the ones you love.

The White Horse Fire Company wants everyone to know that Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors can save lives when operating properly. There are many types, however most Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors are battery operated or have battery backup features if they are hardwired into the electrical system. It is important to test your alarms each month to assure that they are in working order. We also need to be sure the battery has adequate power to operate the alarm. Detectors have a monitoring system for the battery and start chirping when the battery is low. All of this sounds great and fool proof, however several lives were lost due to non-working detectors. Many were found without batteries in them. The Reason? Maybe someone took the battery for a game or radio, or removed the battery to stop the chirping or maybe they were going to replace it and forgot. Because of these findings the program "Change Your Clock - Change Your Battery" was developed. IF everyone follows this program they should never be subject to a non-working detector due to a missing or weak battery. The Action is simple and we are reminded each year at Daylight savings time. Each year we change our clocks. In the Spring (March) we move them ahead one hour and in Fall (November) we move them back one hour.

Each time we do this we need to change the battery in all the detectors. If a specific battery type is recommended then that's the one to use. Whether one is recommended or not, always be sure you are purchasing a fresh battery. Those available at a garage sale or flea market may be old stock. Always check the dates on the battery.

NOTE: The life of a detector is 10 years. If your detector is 10 years old or older, it should be replaced.

Remember, properly working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors can and have saved many lives!

For more on smoke detectors, please visit our "Fire Safety" section of the website, and click on "Information on Smoke Alarms"

"Change your clock, Change your battery" is a national program sponsored by the Energizer Corporation and the International Association of Fire Chiefs who work with local fire departments to remind citizens to change the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors when they change their clocks. Today, more than 6,000 local fire departments participate in the program.

The Spring time change occurs this year on Sunday, March 13. We hope you will join us in the lifesaving campaign!