A working smoke detector reduces the risk of a deadly fire in your home by 50%, according to national studies and local departments. With daylight saving time ending Sunday, homeowners are being reminded to do their twice-yearly checks to ensure their smoke alarms are working.
“It’s indisputable that smoke alarms save lives,” Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer told WTOP. “Smoke alarms are designed to detect a fire in its early stages and alert people so they have time to escape.”
Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department Capt. Danielle Lewis said a smoke detector can be crucial in escaping a home fire: “The first thing that it’ll recognize is the smoke — and of course where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.”
Arlington County, Virginia fire Capt. Gregg Karl said a home should have appropriately placed smoke alarms: “Having a smoke detector on every level of your home, and one in every area where somebody sleeps is what’s recommended.”
Nationally, hardwired smoke alarms are required in all new construction. In older homes, solely battery-powered smoke alarms are required to be powered by a non-replaceable, non-removable 10-year battery.
While testing hardwired alarms, “If you set off one in one part of the home, they should go off all throughout the home,” Lewis said.
The beginning and end of daylight saving time marks an easy reminder of the need to change backup batteries present in hardwired alarms to ensure they work during a power outage.
“If your alarm chirps, it may be time to change the backup battery in your hardwired system,” said Piringer.
When putting in a replacement detector, “Make sure you wrote the date on them that they were installed, so you know about when their life expectancy is up,” said Karl of Arlington County.
“Nothing lasts forever, including smoke alarms,” said Piringer. “Replace entire smoke alarm units every 10 years.”
All local jurisdictions in the D.C. region have programs to provide smoke alarms in homes that don’t have any. In addition, the American Red Cross “Sound the Alarm: Save a Life” program offers to install free smoke alarms nationwide.
In rental properties, landlords are required to ensure the building has the proper number of working alarms in each unit and common areas.
Time to practice an escape route
In addition to ensuring working smoke alarms, local fire officials are encouraging families to discuss and practice escape plans.
“It’s just like when you’re at work or at school, there’s fire drills that occur,” said Karl. “You should do the same thing at home — you should have a plan.”
Lewis, of Prince George’s County, said family members can tailor their plans to their own situations: “It could be the tree out in the front yard, it could be at a neighbor’s house, just somewhere you can all meet up and account for everyone.”
Repetition will help teach safety lessons to the youngest home occupants.
“We practice how we play,” said Lewis. “Practice your escape route as much as possible, so it becomes muscle memory — small children will automatically know where to go and what to do.”
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