In addition to setting clocks forward this week, city fire officials are asking residents residents to examine their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue public education officer Anthony Stokaluk advises detectors should be checked and batteries changed twice per year.
The beginning of daylight saving time, when clocks move forward an hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday, is an ideal reminder. “We want people to think of the time change as the time to change the battery in your smoke alarm,” Stokaluk said at a display at the Intercity Shopping Centre on Friday. “Certain things to look for when changing the battery in your smoke alarm is the age of the alarm. Smoke alarms should be changed every 10 years.”
He added carbon monoxide detectors should be changed every five to seven years, depending on the recommendations from the manufacturer.
In addition to conventional audible alarms, the Canadian Hearing Society was promoting detectors for those with hearing impairments. They were displaying a strobe alarm as well as an alarm clock that comes with a vibrating disc to be placed under the pillow to wake somebody up. “Some people who are hard of hearing or deaf can’t hear the different levels. It doesn’t matter how loud the alarm is,” said Sylvia Metzner, administrative assistant with the Canadian Hearing Society. “It’s a matter of life and death to have a visual fire alarm in their house.”
Regardless of the type, smoke alarms have saved lives. “We’ve had a couple fires in the city where the occupants of the building were alerted by a working smoke alarm and it’s a matter of seconds from getting out of the house safely to not getting out,” Stokaluk said.
The city is also allowing batteries to be recycled next week, with orange re-sealable bags being distributed for curbside pickup on the regular collection day between March 11-21.
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