Residents Reminded To 'Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery'

The following was provided by the Wakefield Fire Department: 

As the time change approaches on Sunday, November 3, the Wakefield Fire Department wants to remind residents to make another change that could save their lives – changing the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

Communities nationwide witness tragic home fire deaths each year. Thousands of people are injured and killed each year from residential fires.  Overall, almost 66 percent of home fire deaths in this country occur in homes without working smoke alarms. Non-working smoke detectors rob residents of the protective benefits that these devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of non-working smoke alarms are worn or missing batteries.  Considering that residential fire deaths peak in winter months, it’s critical to check and change your smoke detector batteries each and every fall.

Changing smoke alarm batteries at least once a year is one of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths and injuries. In fact, working smoke alarms nearly cut in half the risk of dying in a home fire. Additionally, the International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends replacing your smoke alarms every ten years. 

To save lives and prevent needless injuries in Wakefield, the Wakefield Fire Department has joined forces with the International Association of Fire Chiefs for the 26th year of the ”Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery” campaign. The program urges all Americans to adopt a simple, lifesaving habit; changing smoke alarm batteries when changing clocks back to standard time each fall, this year on Saturday night,

November 2, 2013.

“The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 pm and 6 am, when most families are sleeping”, says Wakefield Fire Chief Michael Sullivan. “Smoke alarm maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce fire deaths. Children and senior citizens are most at risk, and a working smoke alarm can give them the extra seconds they need to get out safely.”

In addition, Chief Sullivan recommends residents use the “extra” hour they save from the time change to test smoke alarms by pushing the test button, planning “two ways out” and practicing escape routes with the entire family. Families should also prepare a fire safety kit that includes working flashlights and fresh batteries.

Tragically, fire can kill selectively. Those most at risk include:

• Children – Approximately 1,000 children under the age of 20 die each year in ho0me fires. Children under age five are at twice the risk of dying in a home fire. Eighty percent of fatal home fire victims who were children were killed in homes without working smoke detectors.

• Seniors – Adults over age 75 are three times more likely to die in home fires than the rest of the population; those over 85 are 4.5 times more likely to die in a home fire. Many seniors are unable to escape quickly.

• Low-Income Households – Many low-income families are unable to afford batteries for their smoke alarms. These same households often rely on poorly installed, maintained or misused portable or area heating equipment – a main cause of fatal home fires.

When you change your clocks this weekend, please change the batteries in your smoke detectors. For more information, call the “Change Your Clock, Change Your Batteries” hotline at 314-995-3939 ext. 104.