Daylight saving time begins on March 9th, and aside from losing an hour of sleep, the County of Grande Prairie is reminding residents to change out the batteries in their smoke detectors.
According to the county, it is recommended that you swap the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors every six months, so timing it with spring forward and fall back makes it easy to remember.
The county has been quite vocal this year regarding smoke alarm safety, choosing the theme- Smoke Alarms: Make Them Work for You, during Fire Prevention Week 2024.
Officials say nearly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with no working smoke alarms, and around 38 per cent of home fire deaths occur in homes where no smoke alarms are present at all.
The National Fire Prevention Agency suggests replacing batteries “at least” once per year, or whenever an alarm chirps. Additionally, it is recommended that smoke alarms with non-replaceable 10-year batteries should be disposed of entirely and replaced as soon as it chirps.
