This year, on Sunday, November 5, states throughout the U.S. will be setting their clocks back one hour for daylight saving time. Thomasville Fire Rescue urges you to use this time change as a reminder to also change your home’s smoke alarm batteries.
“As you’re preparing your home for the fall season, adjusting your clocks for daylight saving time, it just makes sense to remember to change your smoke alarm batteries at the same time,” said Thomasville Fire Rescue Chief Tim Connell. “We want this to become a healthy household habit, because emergencies can happen quickly, with little or no warning.”
Smoke alarms are your first line of defense in fire safety. Having working smoke alarms in your home reduces the risks of serious injury or death by fire compared to homes without smoke detectors or alarms that are not working. The National Fire Prevention Association also encourages you to replace your smoke alarms every ten years, tested at least once a month, and batteries should be replaced at least once or twice a year. The manufacture date can be found on the back of the alarm.
Thomasville Fire Rescue can also assist you with smoke alarm testing and installation if you’d rather leave this task to fire safety professionals.
“We offer free installation and testing of smoke alarms to City of Thomasville residents,” noted Connell. “Nearly half of our nation’s fire deaths occur in homes with no working smoke alarms, so this program is an important community resource to help prevent injury and loss of life.”
If you’re interested in free installation or testing of smoke alarms in your home, call Thomasville Fire Rescue at 229-227-4099 or visit thomasville.org.