Red Cross reminds about checking smoke alarms for Daylight Saving Time
CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. >> With daylight savings time starting on Sunday, March 10, the American Red Cross is reminding everyone to test their smoke alarms.
The Red Cross recommends that smoke alarms be checked twice a year to ensure they are working properly. They suggest the beginning and end of daylight savings time as convenient spots on the calendar to do this. When turning your clocks forward this weekend, test your smoke alarms and replace the batteries if needed.
“Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half as you only have about two minutes to get out,” Kevin Coffey, Chief Executive Officer, American Red Cross, Eastern New York Region, said in a news release. “Every second counts when there’s a home fire and the sooner an alarm alerts you to a fire, the sooner you can get to a safer place.
“When you turn your clocks forward this weekend, test your smoke alarms too to help prevent a tragedy in your home.”
In the past month, local Red Cross volunteers responded to help 108 families affected by 66 home fires, which account for most of the about 65,000 disasters that the Red Cross responds to annually across the country.
Since October 2014, the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, working with community partners, has saved at least 2,030 lives, including 107 in Eastern New York, by educating families about fire safety, helping them create escape plans and installing free smoke alarms. To learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved, visit redcross.org/ homefires.
The Red Cross makes the following suggestions for smoke alarm and fire safety:
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas.
• Replace smoke alarms that are 10 years or older. Components can become less sensitive over time. Follow your alarm manufacturer’s instructions.
• Visit redcross.org/fire to learn about creating an escape plan and practicing it with your family. Include at least two ways to get out of every room and select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as your neighbor’s house or a landmark like a specific tree in your front yard. Make sure everyone in your household can get out in less than two minutes — the amount of time you may have to escape a burning home before it’s too late.
• Contact the Red Cross if you need smoke alarms. With the help of local volunteers and partners, the Red Cross is installing free smoke alarms in homes and educating people about fire safety. To request an appointment, contact the Eastern New York Preparedness Team at (518) 694-5121 or Preparedness. ENY@redcross.org
• Download the Red Cross Emergency App by searching “American Red Cross” in app stores.
For more information, please visit redcross.org.