LFD: You changed your clocks, did you change your batteries? Some fascinating but sobering facts

You changed your clocks, but did you change the batteries in your smoke detectors? “Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries.” Is this really that important, or is it just another cute reminder from your local Fire Department?

Here are some fascinating but sobering facts from the Lakewood Board of Fire Commissioners in conjunction with Fire Chief Mike D’Elia Jr., Fire Prevention Coordinator Jacob Woolf, and the members of the Lakewood Fire Department.

SMOKE DETECTORS
2 out of 3 fire deaths are in homes with nonfunctioning smoke alarms.

In the United States, 62% of home fire deaths resulted from home fires with inoperable or no smoke alarms.

38% of total fire injuries occurred in homes with no smoke alarms.

In reported home fires with inoperable alarms, 50% had missing, disconnected, or dead batteries.

A home fire impacts the life of an American family every 85 seconds.

On average, you and your family have less than 2 minutes from the time the first smoke alarm sounds to escape.

Smoke alarms provide an early warning and critical extra seconds to escape – but only if they work!

Most if not all of the above is preventable with properly located and working smoke alarms.
CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS

Known as the invisible killer, CO is colorless & odorless.

CO effects adults and children differently, if your detector goes off check on your children and/or the elderly.

If your CO alarm goes off DON’T assume anything!

There are numerous potential CO sources, not just your stove or oven.

CO sources include: kitchen range or vent, water heater pipes, furnace, dryer, heaters, attached garage, neighboring apartments.
Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security, while most of the time it’s “nothing”, when something does happen it can be deadly. ALWAYS be diligent.

Standard smoke alarms don’t detect carbon monoxide.

35 million people are still at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning. Are you one of them?

Check out the following home safety tips… and put them to practical use!

Test your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors monthly to make sure they are working.

Have at least one working smoke alarm on each level of your home.

Install one carbon monoxide detector in a central location outside each separate sleeping area

IF YOUR DETECTOR GOES OFF, FIND OUT WHY! DON’T ASSUME ANYTHING!
Carbon monoxide detectors are NOT substitutes for smoke alarms, they are NOT interchangeable.

Never disconnect your smoke alarms and/or CO alarms – no matter how “annoying” they are!

Do NOT rely on your sense of smell to alert you, by then it may be too late.
If your detectors are more than 10 years old, the detectors need to be replaced, not just the batteries.

30 seconds and a 9-volt battery can save your life.

Calling on Shabbos and Yomim Tovim – Rabbonim say:

Even when in doubt, if there is a chance of danger, one should call the appropriate authorities.

Now is not the time for debating P’sak Halacha.

Never hesitate to call. Even when unsure. Don’t wait until it’s too late!

A safer choice for Yom Tov cooking is an electrical burner, which can be placed on the stove itself and be utilized with a timer.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Please, please, check your monitors. My son, wife and his twins almost lost their lives last week. Their CO monitor went off once so he changed the batteries. They went to bed, and in the morning it went off again so they called the police. They told them that they were minutes for losing their lives. They all had to go to the hospital for oxygen.

  2. Like the article says.. if it goes off find out WHY? Don’t just assume it’s a battery. The detector itself may be past its life, or it may actually be working and you have just silenced the alarm by resetting it. Imidiately, vacate the premises, leaving windows and doors closed, and call the FD. They will arrive and scan the home with the proper meters and determine the presence of CO, if any.

    • You’re so right. So many people I’ve spoke to say they just remove the batteries when the alarm goes off. CALL the police right away. Better safe than sorry. Don’t second guess.

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