Don’t Fall Behind on Checking Your Detectors

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – This weekend marks the time of year we set our clocks back one hour to better utilize the shorter hours of available sunlight.

Zanesville Firefighter and Paramedic Khen Kim explained why it’s important to not only set your clocks but to also check and see if your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are functioning properly.

“Usually the newer ones, the fire and smoke detector, they have like a 10-year battery on it,” Kim said. “They’re pretty good for 10-years but normally you want to test on it, at the very least. But if you hear like beeping sounds and stuff like that, that means the battery needs changed and for the newer ones, you have to swap the whole thing out. For the older ones you do have a battery that needs to be changed every year or so and this is a good time right now to change it. Like I said, you can test on it but make sure you get the right size and the right manufacturer recommended batteries.”

Kim noted that due to the dropping temperatures this time of year, people begin heating their homes, which can lead to unexpected fires and carbon monoxide poisoning and that inspecting your detectors is not overkill when you’re trying to protect your family.

“Generally, the smoke detector should have a button on there that you do test on it but it’s very simple, I mean you can look up online and stuff, the YouTube instructions,” Kim said. “But we at the Zanesville Fire Department offer the ABC (Wilson) smoke detector fund offer… one smoke detector to each resident. You guys should come to any of the stations 1, 2, or 3 and we’re staffed 24-hours-a-day, so you can come in and fill a form out and grab one for your home.”

In addition to home safety, Kim recommends getting plenty of rest to keep alert as your body adjusts to the one-hour change in your daily routines.