Change Your Clocks and Your Batteries Sunday

Unless your weekend plans include staying up into the early morning Sunday, here is a reminder that before hitting the hay Saturday night you may want to set your clocks back one hour.

The time has come to fall back one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday morning. While it’s time to change the clocks, it’s also a good time to check the batteries in smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, according to one battery company.

The folks at Energizer have partnered with the International Association of Fire Chiefs to help promote its Change Your Clock Change Your Battery campaign. Changing batteries in smoke detectors is a habit Energizer says can be life saving.

Roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in properties without working smoke alarms, according to information from the National Fire Protection Association. And, of all home fire deaths, 38 percent occur in homes without working fire detectors.

“Working smoke alarms are essential in saving lives from fire,” Lorraine Carli, vice president of communications for NFPA said in a news release. “We know you can have as little as three minutes to get out if you have a fire before it becomes deadly. The early warning provided by smoke alarms gives you extra time to escape.”

Over the last 23 years, Energizer has donated more than 4 million batteries to fire departments.

“Each year, thousands of lives are forever changed due to the devastating effects of a home fire,” Chief Al H. Gillespie, president and chairman of the board of the International Association of Fire Chiefs said in a news release from Energizer. “A working smoke alarm is an important defense for surviving a home fire. That’s why public information and education efforts being undertaken by fire departments with the support of Energizer is a vital component to keeping communities across the nation safe and sound.”

Fire Facts:

• 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. are the peak alarm times for home fire deaths – when people tend to be asleep and the house is likely to be dark.

• Approximately every 3 hours, a home fire death occurs somewhere in the nation.

• Home fires caused $7.6 billion in direct property damage during 2009.

Those at greatest risk:

• Children under five are 1.4 times more likely as the population as a whole to die in home fires. 

• Roughly three-quarters of child fire fatalities under age 15 occurred in homes without working smoke alarms.

• On average, home fires kill 500 children ages 14 and under each year.

• Roughly half of the people who died in home fires started by children playing with fire were under five years old.

• Seniors age 75 and older are 2.8 times more likely to die in a home fire.

Source: Energizer, Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery