La. State Fire Marshal urges residents to check smoke alarms as Daylight Saving approaches

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - The Louisiana State Fire Marshal Chief Dan Wallis said he wants to remind Louisianans to check the status of life-saving devices in their homes in correspondence with Daylight Saving Time this Sunday, March 12, at 2 a.m.

Life-saving devices are things such as smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.

“It’s been a long-standing practice in the fire safety world for these two tasks to go hand-in-hand-- change your smoke and CO alarm batteries when you change your clocks,” said Wallis, “These days, as many clocks spring forward automatically, it’s especially important for this reminder to reach every household in Louisiana. Take a moment right now to put ‘change your clocks, change your batteries’ on your to-do list for this weekend.”

The state fire marshal’s office said to also check the age of the devices when determining if new batteries are needed.

“If you know, or suspect, that your smoke or CO alarms are older than 10 years, we highly recommend upgrading to the 10-year, sealed battery alarms that don’t require any battery replacement through their lifetime,” the state fire marshal’s office said in a news release. “These newer alarms will, however, require something we suggest anyways -- pressing the “test” button once a month to ensure the devices are in working order.”

Wallis said having working smoke alarms saves lives.

“We say it all the time, but it is a fact that smoke alarms save lives,” said Wallis, “In 2022, almost 80 Louisianans lost their lives in residential fires. Only three of those cases involved structures with working smoke alarms at the time of the fires. Make sure your family is protected by having these devices in your home and in working order at all times.”

If your home does not have a smoke alarm and you are unable to afford one, the state fire marshal’s Operation Save-A-Life program can help. Local fire departments will install smoke alarms free of charge for families that need them.

For more information about Operation Save-A-Life, visit lasfm.org. You can also contact your local fire department to request a smoke alarm installation.

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