We gain an extra hour by turning the clock back this weekend, and fire officials are asking you to spend some of that extra time up on a stool or ladder to check your smoke detectors. Cedar Rapids Fire Department spokesman Greg Buelow says it’s something that can save your life, or the lives of others.
He says you should put a fresh battery in your smoke alarms and test them to see that they work. You should also test your carbon monoxide detector. Buelow says a working smoke alarm reduces your risk of dying in a fire by 50-percent. Buelow says it may also be time to replace an old detector.
Buelow says the sensors start failing on smoke alarms after about 10 years, so you should change them if they are that old to be sure they are in optimal condition. Buelow says new smoke alarms also provide more protection. He says the state now requires dual sensor smoke alarms that detect different types of fire with photoelectric cells and ionization cells, and they offer the maximum protection. Buelow says the alarms are a vital warning tool
Buelow says most fatal fires happen between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. when people are in a real deep sleep. Buelow says they continue to push people to have working smoke detectors, but a review of last month showed only one third of the fire calls were to residences that had working detectors.