What Time Is It? Daylight Saving and Battery Changing Time, Fire Officials Say

Officials with Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services are asking residents to remember two very important things this weekend - change your clocks to accommodate Daylight Saving Time - and check the batteries in your smoke detector.

The change to Daylight Saving Time is at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 10, 2013. This change moves the clock forward one hour to allow an extra hour of sunlight in the evening. Officials say remembering to change the batteries can also provide extra safety through autumn.
 
Officials say as a rule, your alarms should be checked at least monthly, and the batteries changed out twice a year.  Daylight Saving Time provides an opportunity to make sure you change those batteries out.
 
“Smoke alarms save lives!” Lt. Colin Rhoden of Gwinnett County Fire said in a press release, “Today’s smoke alarms detect smoke particles before they can get to you, giving you added time to escape. Most people who die in residential fires don’t wake up and succumb to smoke inhalation."

GCF&ES also notes the following maintenance tips for smoke alarms.

• Part of your regular maintenance is to keep the alarm dust free, and test it as part of your home safety plan.
• At least one smoke alarm should be placed on each level of the house, especially outside of bedrooms and at the top of staircase landings.  These areas give you the earliest alert about a possible fire in your home.
• No smoke alarm should be used if it is 10 years or older. Smoke alarms have manufacture dates printed on them, so replace the unit based on the manufacturer’s recommendation.

If it is necessary to replace the alarm there are primarily two different types.

• The ionization types are more responsive to flaming fires, such as a grease fire on the stove.
• The other type is photoelectric, it is generally more responsive to fires that begin after a long period of smoldering, such as a fire started by a cigarette discarded in a trash can or dropped on the cushion of a couch.
• According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) the best protection is to use both types of smoke alarm technologies in the home.

 
Remember…when you Spring your clock forward, change your smoke alarm batteries at the same time!
 

Gwinnett Fire Community Risk Reduction Section offers several community based safety classes including live use of fire extinguishers and CPR.  Contact fireprograms@gwinnettcounty.com for more information and to register for a class.