Daylight Saving Time Means Time to Fall Back

Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, Nov. 6 so don’t forget to turn the clocks back one hour.

The McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) encourages residents to change smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors batteries when changing your clocks.

Remind friends, family and neighbors to do the same as this one easy step can help save lives.

Working smoke alarms significantly increase your chance of surviving a deadly home fire, according to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA).

The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 11pm and 7am when most families are sleeping.  A properly installed and maintained smoke alarm is the only thing in your home that can alert you and your family to a fire 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

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.  Other safety tips include:

• Dust or vacuum smoke alarms when you change the batteries.
• Test alarms once a month using the test button.
• Replace the entire alarm if it's more than 10 years old or doesn't work properly when tested.
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, and both inside and outside of sleeping areas.
• For the best protection, equip your home with a combination of ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual sensor alarms.
• Make sure everyone in your home understands the warning of the smoke alarm and knows how to respond.
• Prepare and practice an escape plan so that you and your loved ones can get out of your home safely should there be a fire. Plan to meet in a place a safe distance from the fire and where first responders can easily see you.

For more information on smoke alarms, fire escape planning, and fire prevention, visit USFA website.