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They may be good for 10 years, but its still important to be sure smoke detectors are working!
They may be good for 10 years, but its still important to be sure smoke detectors are working!
MILWAUKEE -- Daylight Saving Time began on Sunday, March 12th at 2:00 a.m., and in addition to turning your clocks forward an hour, there's another important task firefighters hope you accomplished, which could save your life!
Even though the packaging may say "good for 10 years," you shouldn't assume your smoke detector is working as it should.
Lt. Dan Tyk
"Our message still remains -- testing that battery every month. Every time we are not on a call, that's an opportunity that we can be spending teaching more people than we are reaching with the call," Lt. Dan Tyk with the North Shore Fire Department said.
Lt. Tyk said the beginning and end of Daylight Saving Time provide opportunities for firefighters to remind folks to test smoke alarms and replace batteries if needed.
"We test alarms on every call we go on to make sure they are working," Lt. Tyk said.
Lt. Tyk said 90 percent of the homes they check don't have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
"We want one smoke alarm on at least every level of the home and inside and outside of every sleeping area. Obviously in the middle of the night, you're sound asleep. You want that alarm to wake you up, but we should also be sleeping with the door closed, and that's why we want that alarm on the inside of that room to," Lt. Tyk said.
Smoke detector
During smoke detector sweeps, firefighters check homes and install devices for free. The North Shore Fire Department has grant money to allow for this service.
If you live in the City of Milwaukee and you are in need of a smoke detector, you're asked to call the Milwaukee Fire Department Smoke Detector Hotline at (414) 286-8980.