Daylight Savings and Safety

Daylight Saving officially begins this weekend on Sunday, March 10, at 2 a.m. While your phones and computers will automatically “spring forward” one hour earlier, according to safety experts, you’ll still need to check your smoke detectors.

The two times a year we change our clocks also serve as a valuable reminder to change the batteries in our fire alarms. Only half of Americans actually follow this practice.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Lift, twist, or remove the cover. (In some cases, the whole alarm will come off from a base.)
2. Replace the battery with a brand-new one. Most machines use 9-volt batteries.
3. Close and snap the detector back into place.
4. Press the test button to make sure it’s working. You should hear a beep or chirp sound.

Start off the spring season safely knowing your fire alarms are functioning properly!