Change Smoke Detector Batteries When You 'Spring Forward'

A quick reminder for Sunday: When you “spring forward” one hour, be sure to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Fire districts around the nation are reminding residents as part of the annual "Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery" campaign.

Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, so you might as well set those clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed Saturday night. Make it a point Saturday or Sunday to change the detector batteries, too.

A home fire death occurs somewhere in the U.S. every three hours, and more than half of those happen in homes without working smoke detectors or with detectors lacking working batteries, fire officials said.

Tips for properly using smoke alarms include installing dual sensor alarms that respond to fires with flames as well as smoky fires that have fumes without flames, and testing detectors on a monthly basis. And here’s a fact most California residents don’t know: There is a new state law that requires homes to have carbon monoxide detectors.

— Bay City News Service