Help Save Lives in Summit: Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery

Thursday, November 01, 2007 - Summit County, CO

As the time change approaches on Sunday, November 4, Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue, Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District and Copper Mountain Fire reminds residents to make another change that could save their lives -- changing the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

Communities nationwide witness tragic home fire deaths each year. An average of three children per day die in home fires and 80 percent of those occur in homes without working smoke alarms. Nonworking smoke alarms rob residents of the protective benefits home fire safety devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of nonworking smoke alarms: worn or missing batteries.

Changing smoke alarm batteries at least once a year is one of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths and injuries. In fact, working smoke alarms nearly cut in half the risk of dying in a home fire. Additionally, the International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends replacing your smoke alarms every ten years.

To save lives and prevent needless injuries in Summit County, the Summit Fire Departments have joined forces with Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs for the 20th year of the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery campaign. The program urges all Americans to adopt a simple, lifesaving habit: changing smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries when changing clocks back to standard time each fall, this year on November 4.

"The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when most families are sleeping," says Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue Fire Marshal, Chief Steve Skulski. "Smoke alarm maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths. Children and senior citizens are most at risk, and a working smoke alarm can give them the extra seconds they need to get out safely," adds Deputy Fire Marshal Lt. Jay Nelson, Red, White and Blue Fire Department.

In addition, Skulski and Nelson recommend residents use the "extra" hour they save from the time change to test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors by pushing the test button, planning "two ways out" and practicing escape routes with the entire family. Families should also prepare a fire safety kit that includes working flashlights and fresh batteries.

Tragically, fire can kill selectively. Those most at risk include:

Children -- Approximately 1,000 children under the age of 20 die each year in home fires. Children under age five are at twice the risk of dying in a home fire. Eighty percent of fatal home fire victims who were children were killed in homes without working smoke alarms.

Seniors -- Adults over age 75 are three times more likely to die in home fires than the rest of the population; those over 85 are 4.5 times more likely to die in a home fire. Most seniors are unable to escape quickly.

Low-Income Households -- Many low-income families are unable to afford batteries for their smoke alarms. These same households often rely on poorly installed, maintained or misused portable or area heating equipment -- a main cause of fatal home fires.

For more information about fire safety, contact Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue at (970) 513-4100 or at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District at (970) 453-2474, Copper Mountain Fire Department at (970) 968-2300, or the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery hotline at 314-995-3939, x104.

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Press Contact:
Brandon Williams
(970) 418-0562
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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