Change your bateries: change your clock

Posted: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 8:22 am

The Martin Kiwanis Club is encouraging people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they change their clocks from Daylight Savings Time on Saturday night, Nov. 1. More than 50 percent of fatal residential fires take place at night when people are sleeping. Smoke detectors play a vital role in saving the lives of families in the event of a fire. Placement of smoke detectors You should position smoke detectors on the ceiling just outside each bedroom. Smoke detectors should be placed on each level of the house, including basements. If you sleep with your bedroom door closed, place an additional detector inside the bedroom. Portable fire extinguishers Fire extinguishers are safety devises that may be used to put out small fires and potentially save lives. A fire extinguisher needs to be checked, listed and approved by an independent testing laboratory. Each member of the family should be able to operate a fire extinguisher in case of an emergency. The fire extinguishers should be mounted in easy-to-get-to places in the kitchen or garage. Planning a family evacuation plan It is important that every family has a plan of escape in case of an emergency. Fire can spread rapidly, blocking exits and creating dangerous, smoky conditions. Smoke is very dangerous and even a few breaths of smoke and toxic gases can kill you. If you become trapped in smoke, crawl low and keep your head down. Smoke and heat rise; cleaner air is near the floor.wcp 10-28-08

None