Fire Department Reminds Community to Test Smoke Detectors

A release from the Stoneham Fire Department:

STONEHAM - As residents prepare to change their clocks this weekend for daylight saving time, Chief Matthew Grafton and the Stoneham Fire Department would like to remind residents to test their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

Daylight saving time ends Sunday, Nov. 4 at 2 a.m.

"We ask that residents take an extra few minutes this weekend to ensure that their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are working properly," Chief Grafton said. "These devices are extremely important to best ensure your safety in the event of an emergency."

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that 46 percent of smoke alarms that failed to operate had missing, disconnected or dead batteries and roughly three out of every five fire deaths occur in homes with no working smoke alarms.

The Stoneham Fire Department asks that all business owners not only change the batteries in their clocks, smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, but also replace the batteries on wall mounted emergency lights and exit signs. All businesses have emergency backup lighting as a safety feature to provide temporary lighting in case of power failure.

In order to keep your home safe and prevent fires, Chief Grafton recommends that residents follow safety tips outlined by NFPA:

• Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms at least once a month using the test button. Replace alarms immediately if they don’t respond properly when tested.
• Replace batteries in smoke and CO alarms when you change your clocks.
• Replace all smoke alarms when they reach 10 years old. Replace CO detectors according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each sleeping area, on every level of the home, and in other locations where required by applicable laws, codes or standards. For the best protection, interconnect all CO alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
• If the CO alarm sounds, immediately move to a fresh air location outdoors or by an open window or door. Make sure everyone inside the home is accounted for. Call for help from a fresh air location and stay in that spot until emergency personnel arrive.

For more information on smoke detector and CO alarm safety, visit the NFPA website or contact the Stoneham Fire Department at 781-438-5296.