Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery

Posted: Oct. 27, 2009

Change Your Clock Change Your Battery® Celebrates 22nd Anniversary

 

Over the past 22 years, almost 6,000 fire departments have participated in the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery Program, which was founded by the International Association of Fire Chiefs and Energizer Company.

 

The North Shore Fire Department would like to remind residents to adopt the life-saving habit of the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery® program. Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, November 1, at 2:00 a.m. and it’s also time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Having working smoke alarms in your home doubles your chances of surviving a home fire. The fire safety tips below help keep residents safe.

 

Simple Home Fire Safety Tips:

 

1. Practice smoke-alarm maintenance for a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths.

 

2. A simple reminder from the International Association of Fire Chiefs and Energizer Max® brand batteries: When you change your clocks, change the battery in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. This can help save lives.

 

3. Test your smoke alarms monthly to make sure they are working.

 

4. Have at least one (1) working smoke alarm on each level of your home.

 

5. Plan, discuss and practice a fire escape route with your family. Practice your plan at least twice each year with your entire family.

 

6. Do not rely on your sense of smell to alert you that you and your family are in danger of being trapped during a fire. Fire doubles every 20 seconds, get out quickly and safely.

 

7. Be sure not to ignore the chirping sound your smoke alarm makes when maintenance is required.

 

8. Keep fire-starting materials away from children, including lighters, matches, cigarettes, cigars and pipes.

 

9. Use flashlights or battery operated candles, rather than regular flame producing candles to light your home during power outages.

 

10. Space heaters need space. Portable space heaters need a three-foot (one meter) clearance from anything that can burn and should always be turned off when leaving the room or going to sleep.

 

The North Shore Fire Department will install a smoke alarm in any owner-occupied home that does not presently have one. The home must be located in one of our seven (7) North Shore communities: Bayside, Brown Deer, Fox Point, Glendale, River Hills, Shorewood, Whitefish Bay.

 

If you are in need of a smoke alarm, please call the station closest to your home and arrangements will be made for the installation.

 

· Station 1 Brown Deer 414-357-0865

· Station 2 Glendale 414-228-5204

· Station 3 Shorewood 414-332-4228

· Station 4 Whitefish Bay 414-963-0515

· Station 5 Bayside 414-351-8904

 

Keep your family, friends and neighbors safe—remind them to follow these simple tips and change the batteries in their alarms and detectors when they change their clocks back this fall.

 

Please don’t hesitate to contact our public education office at 414-228-0292 or jglanz@nsfire.org with any fire safety questions you may have.

 

Visit our website at www.nsfire.org for further fire and life safety information.