With Daylight Saving Time coming up this weekend, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal reminds residents that it’s the best time to test and replace the batteries in their home smoke alarms.
Clocks must be adjusted one hour earlier at 2 a.m. Sunday, when Central Standard Time resumes.
“The time change serves as a great reminder to test your smoke alarms and change the batteries in them,” said Illinois Fire Marshal Matt Perez.
“Parents can use this time to teach kids how to recognize the sound of smoke alarms and to practice their home fire safety plan.”
The National Fire Protection Association reports that from 2012 to 2016, almost three out of every five home fire deaths in the United States resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or non-working smoke alarms.
In fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate, more than two of every five of the smoke alarms had missing or disconnected batteries. Dead batteries accounted for 25 percent of smoke alarm failures.
A 2017 Illinois law required 10-year sealed smoke alarms be installed in all homes built before 1988 or those that do not have hardwired smoke detectors.
“Be Alarmed!” is a fire safety education and smoke alarm installation program administered cooperatively between the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal.
This program provides 10-year, concealed-battery smoke alarms to Illinois residents through their local fire departments, and can aid with obtaining and installing these alarms. Smoke alarms are required on every floor of the house and within 15 feet of every bedroom.
For more information on the “Be Alarmed!” program, visit www.ifsa.org/programs/alarms.