Daylight Saving time comes to an end at 2:00 a.m. Sunday. As you turn your clocks back an hour Lincoln Fire and Rescue Public Information Officer MJ Lierman says
be sure and change the batteries in your smoke detector. She says if a fire starts you don’t have much time to safely escape your home.
“Some of the really bad things are no working smoke alarms in places where it was just really preventable, especially when your sleeping an alarm would have woke them up.” She says using interconnected smoke alarms is best because when one sounds they others do as well.
She recommends installing one detector on each floor, one in each sleeping area and in hallway areas. They should be placed on the ceiling or high on a wall. Smoke detectors should be installed at least ten feet from a stove or oven to prevent false alarms when cooking.
Parts of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms can wear out over time. Lierman says test these devices each month to make sure they are still working. To test a smoke detector, press and hold the test button.
It can take a few seconds before a high-pitched chirping sound is heard. If the sound is weak or nonexistent replace your batteries. To test a carbon monoxide detector, hold down the test button until you hear two beeps sound off. Once you hear these beeps, release your finger off the test button.
Lierman says LFR also has a program where they install detectors for deaf and hard of hearing residents. The devices will vibrate their pillows or produce strobe lights to alert them to potential danger.