Daylight Saving Time: Turning Your Clocks Back? Test Your Smoke Alarms Too

When daylight saving time ends, it’s a good time to test every smoke alarm in your home. The American Red Cross recommends testing smoke alarms once a month and replacing alarms that are 10 years old or older. You should also practice your home fire escape plan at least twice a year.

Every year, home fires take more lives than all natural disasters combined. With only minutes to escape, early warning is critical. Working smoke alarms can reduce the risk of death in a home fire by 50%. When paired with a household escape plan, they provide the best chance for a safe escape.

What can you do to be better prepared in case a fire starts in your home? Here are some DO’s and DON’Ts to help:

DO

• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Replace smoke alarms that are 10 years old or older, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Test your smoke alarms once a month and replace the batteries at least once a year if your model requires it. Also, practice escaping from your home at least twice a year.
• Put together a fire escape plan for your household. Make sure everyone knows two ways to escape from every room in your home and where to meet outside.
• Make sure everyone knows how to call 9-1-1. Teach children what smoke alarms sound like and what to do if they hear one.
• Have your chimney cleaned and checked once a year, and use a metal or glass fireplace screen to help keep embers contained.

DON’T

• Leave fires or candles burning, or heating appliances plugged in, while you’re asleep, in another room or away from home.
• Leave the kitchen when cooking, frying or grilling. Most kitchen fires start on stovetops — not in the oven.
• Toss water on a grease fire. If you don’t already have one, consider keeping a fire extinguisher within easy reach. If you don’t have one and a fire starts in a pan, put a lid on it to suffocate the flames.
• Put items that can catch fire near your stove, such as curtains, towel racks or potholders. If your microwave isn’t built in, make sure nothing obstructs the vents and keep counter clutter away.
• Put anything that gives off heat near anything that might catch fire, especially space heaters.

ONE MORE STEP

Download the free Red Cross Emergency app for instant access to weather alerts, emergency preparedness information and open Red Cross shelter locations. Choose whether you want to view content in English or Spanish using the easy-to-find language selector. The Emergency app is accessible for people with disabilities and is compatible with Apple Watch and Android wearable devices. Find Red Cross apps in smartphone app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or redcross.org/apps.

THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSOR State Farm®️ is the National Sound the Alarm Sponsor. Their funding helps our efforts to build safer, stronger, better-educated communities. For decades, State Farm has teamed up with the Red Cross in support of home safety, disaster preparedness and relief efforts. State Farm is committed to helping individuals and families manage everyday risks like home fires by sponsoring Sound the Alarm.