Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend and the State Fire Marshal is reminding South Dakota homeowners to take care of their clocks and smoke alarms this weekend.
Clocks officially change at 2am local time Sunday (Nov. 3)– going back one hour, giving most an extra hour of sleep.
Fire Marshal Paul Merriman also suggests when resetting clocks, people should also take time to switch batteries in their smoke alarms. Merriman says working smoke alarms should be a priority for every homeowner.
Merriman says the National Fire Protection Association reports nearly three of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms (40%) or no working smoke alarms (17%). He says they’ve seen cases in South Dakota where people have died in house fires where there were no working smoke alarms and they’ve seen cases where people have escaped home fires because of a working smoke alarm.
Other safety tips involving smoke alarms include:
- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
- Test alarms at least monthly by pressing the test button.
- Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old. Do it sooner if the alarms don’t respond properly.
