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As the daylight savings time clock change passes, the Asheville Fire & Rescue Department is reminding residents to make another change that could save their lives - changing the batteries in their smoke alarms. Asheville Fire & Rescue urges all citizens to adopt a simple life safety habit to change smoke alarm batteries when they change their clocks back from daylight savings time.
Although about 96 percent of all American homes have smoke alarms, about 23 percent do not work. Working smoke alarms greatly reduce the likelihood of a residential fire-related fatal injury by providing occupants with early warning and giving them additional time to escape. Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying almost in half by providing an early warning sign. �Aside from changing the batteries twice a year, citizens should also test their smoke alarms once a month,� Chief Greg Grayson states. Overall, 80 percent of U.S. home fire deaths happen in homes without working smoke alarms and generally occur between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when most people are sleeping. Once a smoke alarm is activated, residents only have seconds to get out. Those seconds can mean life or death. Chief Greg Grayson adds, �Now is not only the time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms but to plan and practice your escape plan with the whole family�. For more information please contact Public Information Officer Kelley Webb at 828-251-4011. (Images provided by Wikipedia.)
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