As we return to Daylight Savings Time this weekend, in addition to nudging your clock ahead an hour before you go to bed on Saturday night, don't forget to change out the batteries in your home's smoke detectors too.

It's always been kind of an unwritten rule that those two activities go hand-in-hand twice each year during the time change weekends.

Smoke detectors can and do save lives. There's plenty of data to back that up.

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South Dakota Fire Marshal Paul Merriman shared a little of that information with Dakota News Now recently. Merriman said smoke alarms sounded in more than half (54%) of the home fires that were reported to U.S. fire departments from 2014 to 2018.

Almost three of every five home fire deaths are the result of a home that did not have a smoke detector or a functioning smoke detector installed.

The fire death rate per 1,000 in homes without a working smoke detector is more than twice as high, compared to the rate in homes with functioning smoke alarms installed.

Missing or disconnected batteries are the culprit in two of every five house fires where a smoke detector was installed by failed to operate.

The importance of swapping out the batteries in all of your smoke detectors twice each year cannot be understated research has shown that more than one-quarter (26%) of the smoke alarm failures were the result of a dead battery.

Along with smoke detectors, it's a very good idea to have a carbon monoxide alarm installed in your home. Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, and toxic gas, that is impossible to see, taste or smell. As Merriman told Dakota News Now, toxic CO fumes can kill you before you are aware they're even in your home.

Again, time change weekend is an excellent time to inspect both alarm systems by pushing the test button on the alarm. If the alarm fails to make a sound after pressing the button, it is time to change out your batteries.

Remember, we spring ahead to Daylight Saving Time on Sunday (March 14) at 2:00 AM.

Source: Dakota News Now

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