The following is a letter to the editor by State Fire Marshal Robert R. Rielage.  Confirmation or questions regarding this can be directed to Bill Teets, director of communications, at 614/644-7187.

 

 

 

Dear Editor:

 

Change your clock; change your battery.  This simple reminder could save your life.  When you change your clocks to “fall back” one hour on October 31, take one of those extra 60 minutes to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. 

 

Last year, Ohioans experienced 13,836 residential fires killing 111 people, injuring 871 more and causing $128,063,894 in property damage.   In residential fires reported to the State Fire Marshal, a smoke detector was not present 26% of the time.  In addition, where a detector was present, 15% of the time it did not operate properly—often because of missing or dead batteries.

 

Even one smoke detector in the home doubles you and your family's chances of escaping a nighttime fire.  Smoke detectors, when properly installed and maintained, provide early warning when fire occurs.  For the greatest protection, install a smoke detector outside of each bedroom or sleeping area and on every level of your home. Test each detector at least monthly. Batteries in battery-operated detectors should be changed at least once yearly or whenever a detector "chirps" to signal low battery power.  Never "borrow" a smoke detector's battery for another use -- a disabled detector cannot save your life. Finally, since you may have as little as two minutes to escape a fire, create and practice an escape plan in the event the alarm sounds.

 

Change your clock; change your battery.  It’s simple, it’s cheap, it’s easy to remember, and it could save your life.

 

 

Yours in Safety,

 

 

 

Robert R. Rielage

State Fire Marshal