NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Daylight Saving Time begins on March 10 and Hutchinson Fire Marshal Mike Cain encourages everyone to test their smoke alarms as they turn their clocks forward to make sure the devices are working.
"Even with the ten-year battery, the sealed battery smoke alarms that are becoming common and almost standard, you still need to test the smoke alarm at least once a month," Cain said. "Go up and there's a button right on it. You push it, it beeps at you, you know it's still working."
Practice your two-minute home fire escape plan. Make sure everyone in your household can get out in less than two minutes. That's the amount of time you may have to escape a burning home before it’s too late.
"Cooking does not count as testing your smoke alarms," Cain said. "You still need to push the button and test it. The homes that have actual hard-wired, they still have a battery back up in them. You still want to test those once a month, as well."
If you were one of the early adopters for the ten year smoke alarms, it might be time for those to be changed, too.
"Whether they are hard wired or whether they are battery, smoke alarms only last 10 years," Cain said. "Once you hit that 10 year mark, you just need to take them down. Replace the entire unit. They have a radioactive element in there. The half-life is only ten years for those."
Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas.
Editor's Note: The American Red Cross also provided information for this article.
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