Connecticut State Commission on Fire Prevention and Control

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  Change your Clocks – Change your Batteries

At 2:00 am on Sunday March 8, we will “spring ahead” to daylight savings time.  For many years the Fire Service along with the International Association of Fire Chiefs and Energizer batteries have used this event to remind people to change the batteries in their Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms.  By ensuring that the batteries in these life-saving tools are fresh, you can double your chances of surviving a home fire. 

“The cost of regularly replacing the batteries in all of your detectors is a small price to pay for your family’s safety”, said Alan Zygmunt the Public Fire and Life Safety Coordinator at the Connecticut Fire Academy.  “Use this event of changing your clocks to change the batteries as well.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA);

  • In 2012-2016, smoke alarms were present in three-quarters (74%) and sounded in more than half (53%) of the home fires reported to U.S. fire departments.

     

  • Almost three of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms (40%) or no smoke alarms that were working (17%).

     

  • In fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate, more than two of every five (43%) of the smoke alarms had missing or disconnected batteries.

     

  • Dead batteries caused one-quarter (25%) of the smoke alarm failures. 
The Connecticut Fire Academy is the teaching arm of the Connecticut Commission on Fire Prevention and Control (CFPC), an agency of The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP).  Part of their mission is educating the public in fire and burn prevention.