COVINGTON, Ky. — As many turn their clocks back on Saturday, first responders encourage people to look at a typical but overlooked item in your household — your smoke detectors.

What You Need To Know

  •  Firefighters encourage everyone to check their smoke detectors and change the batteries with the Daylight Saving Time change

  •  They say often times people pull out batteries or don't realize they've died, meaning the smoke detector fails to do its job

  • The U.S. Fire Administration reports more than a third of home fire deaths result from fires in which no smoke alarms are present

They remind people of their existence through a chirping sound and should be found in every home. Captain Amy Shaefer with the Covington Fire Department says smoke detectors have been around for more than a century.

“It is the oldest fire prevention mechanism that we have and it’s one of the ones that is still the most underutilized,” Shaefer said.

That’s something she and others on the scene of a structure fire ask crews and individuals when filing reports: “Did you hear the activation of smoke detectors?”

The U.S. Fire Administration reports three out of five home fire deaths result from fires in properties without working smoke alarms. They also report more than a third of home fire deaths result from fires in which no smoke alarms are present.

Shaefer says she and other firefighters want to remind people as we spring forward for Daylight Saving Time to check up on those smoke detectors and replace those batteries.

“A lot of the times, the most sought after fail of of smoke detectors is because people will pull the batteries or because the batteries are dead,” she explained.

Shaefer says people can even test their smoke detectors monthly to stay on top of things. She also recommends calling your own fire department to help with changing batteries if you can’t do it yourself.

She leads a program at the department that handles community outreach, education efforts and getting people signed up for smoke detector help.

“We can put your name on a list and we come and install a free smoke detector for you so that way it eliminates the need if you need to get on a ladder, or eliminate the need on where do I put this thing at?” Shaefer said.

For her, it’s all about keeping others safe. She adds that testing those smoke detectors and making sure the batteries work can help save lives.

The American Red Cross reports they’ve installed more than 2 million free smoke alarms in homes across the country through their Home Fire Campaign, another effort to help keep people safe in the event of an emergency.

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