Change Smoke Detector Batteries When You 'Spring Forward'

Firefighters are urging Marin County residents to change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors Sunday as part of the annual "Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery" campaign.

Fire officials want the public to change batteries when they reset clocks for daylight saving time, which begins Sunday at 2 a.m.

A home fire death occurs somewhere in the U.S. every three hours, and more than half of those happen in homes without working smoke detectors or with detectors lacking working batteries, fire officials said.

Some tips for properly using smoke alarms include installing dual sensor alarms that respond to fires with flames as well as smoky fires that have fumes without flames, and testing detectors on a monthly basis.

Firefighters are also reminding residents of a new state law that requires homes to have carbon monoxide detectors.

Bay City News Service