Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 am Sunday, and the American Red Cross reminds everyone, TURN your clocks back one hour, and TEST your smoke alarms.

In a press release, American Red Cross said,

When you turn the clocks ahead, take a few minutes to replace the batteries in your smoke alarms and push the test button to make sure the alarms are working. It’s also a great time to check your carbon monoxide detectors. An average of seven people are killed in a home fire every day and an average 36 people suffer from injuries. Unfortunately, these cases could have been prevented if families knew what to do in the event of a house fire.

The Red Cross is asking that every household practices two simple steps that can save lives: practice a two minute fire drill and test or install smoke alarms. If a fire starts, you may only have two minutes to get to safety. Everyone in a household should know of at least two ways to escape from each room in your home and families should have a specific location to meet outside of the home in case of a fire. Having a properly working smoke alarm is important because it alerts families of a fire as soon as a fire is detected. More information on our two minute drills and safety plans can be found here.

“We want families to know that injuries from home fires can be prevented if the entire household follows to these two simple steps: practicing a two minute fire drill and testing their smoke alarms often,” said Alicia Anger, Director of Communications and Marketing, Alabama Region. “Smoke alarms save lives and it is important that households have a properly working alarm and a plan.”

The American Red Cross and its partners have launched an initiative to make sure households have properly working smoke alarms to prevent home fires. The Home Fire Campaign initiative aims to reduce deaths and injuries caused by home fires by 25 percent in five years.

HOW CAN YOU MAINTAIN SMOKE ALARMS? Smoke alarms save lives. You should:

  • Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.
  • Check monthly that smoke alarms are working properly by pushing the test button.
  • Replace batteries in smoke alarms at least once a year.
  • Replace smoke alarms every ten years.

 

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