Change smoke alarm, carbon monoxide detector batteries

End of Daylight Savings Time Opportunity to Ensure Detectors Are Properly Working

The City of Naperville reminds residents and interested parties that when they adjust their clocks due to the end of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, November 6 to also change the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

Through these proactive efforts, residents can help reduce home fire-related injuries and fatalities. Non-working smoke alarms rob residents of the protective benefits home fire safety devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of non-working smoke alarms are worn or missing batteries.

“According to the National Fire Protection Association, eighty percent of child fire fatalities occur in homes without working smoke alarms,” Naperville Fire Chief Mark Puknaitis said. “It's a tragic statistic that could be reduced by adopting the simple habit of changing the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors at the same time as when you change your clocks. I encourage everyone to use the extra hour you ‘gain' from the time change to change your detector batteries and ask others to do so.”

Changing smoke alarm batteries at least once a year, testing those alarms monthly and reminding friends and family members to do the same are some of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce fire-related deaths and injuries. Additionally, the Naperville Fire Department recommends that smoke alarms as well as carbon monoxide detectors in homes should be replaced every 10 years.

For more information on the City of Naperville, visit www.naperville.il.us. Sign up to receive the latest news on the City of Naperville's projects and initiatives via e-mail at www.naperville.il.us/enews.aspx.