Good time to change smoke alarm batteries

-- Mary A. Castillo

Firefighters from the Laguna Beach Fire Department hope that when

residents change their clocks on Sunday, they’ll also change the

batteries of home smoke alarms.

“The majority of residential structure fires occur between the

late evening and early a.m. hours,” said Engineer Roy Sendele, one of

the department’s leading authorities on smoke alarms. “Early

detection is the key to survival.”

An alarm gives families and individuals time to escape a fire and

cuts the risk of dying by 50%. A typical living room fire can produce

life-threatening conditions throughout the house in less than two

minutes after the alarm sounds, Sendele said.

He also advised that smoke alarms should be cleaned at least once

a year, tested monthly and batteries should never be “borrowed” to

use someplace else.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m., Oct. 27. The department

suggests that everyone change smoke alarm batteries and their clocks

before going to bed.

For more fire safety tips please call (949) 497-0700.