Change Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Batteries as You Spring

Forward on Sunday March 8

Contact: Jeannie Vogel 517-373-9280
Agency: Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

March 6, 2015 - With the start of daylight saving time this weekend, State Fire Marshal Richard
Miller reminds Michiganders to change the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide
alarms when setting their clocks ahead one hour.
"Working smoke alarms save lives, they double a familys chance of surviving a home fire, said
Miller. If your smoke alarms dont work due to dead or missing batteries, now is the time to put in
fresh batteries. Replace old alarms every 10 years, test them monthly and clean them regularly.
Miller said homes should have smoke alarms outside every bedroom, and on every level of the
home, including the basement. Never disable the alarm or borrow a battery from a smoke alarm to
use somewhere else. If an alarm chirps its a warning that the battery is low and needs replacing.
Smoke alarms are either powered by battery (a disposable 9-volt battery or non-replaceable 10-year
lithium long-life battery) or are hardwired into the homes electrical system. Hard-wired alarms
usually are equipped with a backup battery that may need to be replaced. Its best to hard-wire
alarms into the homes electrical system. Interconnect all of the alarms so when one goes off, they
all go off.
In the kitchen where fires most often occur, install an ionization alarm with a hush button or a
photoelectric alarm if it will be within 20 feet of a cooking appliance. Consumers should also install
an all-purpose fire extinguisher in or near the kitchen and know how to use it. Make sure it is listed
by, and carries the mark of, an accredited testing agency such as Underwriters Laboratory.
In 2014, the top six areas where fires started in Michigan homes were:

Kitchen
o 1,322 fires, 7 deaths, 78 injuries

Living Room
o 712 fires, 12 deaths, 16 injuries

Garage
o 489 fires, 1 death, 12 injuries

Bedroom
o 469 fires, 3 deaths, 38 injuries

Basement
o 403 fires, 4 deaths, 4 injuries

Laundry
o 336 fires, 3 deaths, 5 injuries

Miller also urges citizens to install and maintain carbon monoxide (CO) alarms that should be
installed in the hallway outside the bedrooms . Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that
can be fatal at relatively low levels in the home. If the CO alarm sounds, leave your home
immediately, and call 9-1-1.
Now is also a good time for the family to develop and practice an escape plan that has two ways out
in case of fire, Miller said. Families with children should conduct a fire drill at night at least twice a
year so the kids recognize the sound of the home's smoke alarms and teach them to respond
instinctively to their signal.
Designate a clear meeting place for everyone to gather outside the home in case of a fire or other
emergency, and notify the fire department by calling 9-1-1 from a safe location. Help your
firefighters by remaining together outside the home and directing them to any endangered family
member.
According to the National Fire Protection Agency, the peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10
p.m. and 6 a.m. when most families are sleeping. In more than one-third of home fire deaths, no
smoke alarms were present. In one-quarter of home fire deaths, smoke alarms were present, but
did not sound; and 36 percent of fatal fire victims never wake up before being injured.
Visit the Bureau of Fire Services website at www.michigan.gov/bfs for more fire safety information.
For more information about LARA, please visit www.michigan.gov/lara
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