Zanesville Fire Department Urges the Community to Check Smoke Detectors

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio- Daylight saving time ends at 2:00 a.m. this Sunday and people are reminded to set the clocks back an hour, however , the Zanesville Fire Department (ZDF) is reminding the community to test all of their smoke alarms in the home as well.

Statistics show that you’re about 55 to 60 percent less likely to die in a fire if you have working smoke detectors, according to Dakota Knicely, Firefighter Paramedic at Zanesville Fire Department.

“We recommended that you set those up in high risk areas such as around bedrooms and on each level of your house. Most smoke detectors have a shelf life of about 10 years. There should be an expiration date on the back of your smoke detector,” Knicely said. “Some of those units have sealed batteries and so it’s really important if your smoke detector is expired that you get a new one if you have a sealed battery and not able to replace that.”

Any alarm that was manufactured in 2011 or earlier should be replaced. Now that we are transferring over into the cold weather, Knicely gives recommendations on what to look out for on the dangers of carbon monoxide.

“So if you have gas appliances, gas furnace, stuff like that your always at risk for a potential to have carbon monoxide issues. So we do recommend that you have a carbon monoxide detector in your home,” Knicely said.

If you are needing a new smoke detector, please visit the fire department where they provide one free smoke detector per resident in connection with the ABC Wilson fund.