Daylight Saving Starts Sunday; Residents Reminded To Check Smoke Detectors

Daylight Saving Time arrives Sunday, and with the reminder to push your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed Saturday night comes the annual reminder to check your smoke detectors, too.

The Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention is reminding residents that while you change your clocks, you also need to change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

“Replacing the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms when you adjust your clocks twice a year is an easy way to ensure that your family is protected,” said Bob Yaiser, public education officer for the Bureau of Fire Prevention.

According to the National Fire Protection Agency, 71 percent of smoke alarms that failed to operate had missing, disconnected or dead batteries, Yaiser said.

“Every year in New Jersey there are fire fatalities in homes that did not have smoke alarms or where the alarms did not function because of dead batteries,” Yaiser said. “If you do not have a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector, you need to get one. You also need to test both devices monthly to make sure they are in working order.”
In addition, if your smoke alarms are more than 10 years old, it's time to replace them, authorities say.

The National Fire Protection Association began a campaign last fall, saying smoke alarms should be checked and replaced every 10 years to ensure they are in proper working order.

“While the public generally knows that smoke alarms play an important role in home fire safety, some smoke alarm messages are not as well understood,” says Lorraine Carli, vice president of Outreach and Advocacy for NFPA. “Not knowing how often smoke alarms need to be replaced — or that they even have an expiration date — are among them.”

The reason they need to be replaced is that the smoke sensors lose sensitivity over time, according to Consumer Reports.

"The life expectancy of smoke alarms is generally 10 years, after which point their sensors can begin to lose sensitivity," Consumer Reports said in a Q-and-A response. "The test button only confirms that the battery, electronics, and alert system are working; it doesn’t mean that the smoke sensor is working. To test the sensor, use an aerosol can of smoke alarm test spray that simulates smoke."

That includes hard-wired smoke alarms as well as ones that are solely battery-powered, according to an Angie's List article that cites the National Fire Protection Association.
Image: Patch file photo