We have just come out of the weekend where we pushed our clocks ahead one hour to Daylight Saving Time. Danville Fire Chief Don McMasters says if you did not yet take time to use that occasion to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, do it ASAP. He says even if you have one of those modern detectors, now required to be sold by law, with ten year batteries, “spring forward” or “fall back” time is still when you should take the initiative to TEST those batteries. McMasters also says, those new ones are around, but a huge percentage of people most likely still have the old regular battery detectors, figuring they’re fine with what they have.
AUDIO: If I were a betting man I would say a considerable large amount of them still have the old style because: A) They don’t know any better, don’t realize; and/or B) they’re not exactly inexpensive to buy and replace, (so they think) “and mine still funcations appropriately as long as I put a new battery in it every year so I’ll change it eventually.” So I’d say there’s still a significant amount of those that are out there that still take a standard battery.
And while it’s true that it’s a shorter “standard time period” these days, from “fall back” to “spring forward” than it used to be. That doesn’t matter. When you change your clocks, change, or test, your detector batteries. And as Chief McMasters also reminded us, check on those batteries, no matter which kind, EVERY MONTH, as well.
