[E-updates] Change your clock, change your battery, a message from the Lawren ce Douglas County Fire Medical Department

[Lisa Patterson]

NEWS RELEASE  CITY OF LAWRENCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 22, 2003

CONTACT: Rich Barr, fire marshal
Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical Department
(785) 832-3174

Change your clock, change your battery
 
(Lawrence, Ks) - When the fall time changes arrives this Sunday, the
Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical Department wants residents to make
another change that could save their lives - changing the batteries in their
smoke alarms.

Non-working smoke alarms rob residents of the protective benefits home fire
safety devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of
non-working smoke alarms: worn or missing batteries. Changing smoke alarm
batteries at least once a year is one of the simplest, most effective ways
to reduce these deaths and injuries. Additionally, the International
Association of Fire Chiefs recommends replacing your smoke alarms every ten
years.

"The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when
most families are sleeping," says Fire Marshal Rich Barr. "Smoke alarm
maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths. Children
and senior citizens are most at risk, and a working smoke alarm can give
them the extra seconds they need to get out safely." In addition, Barr
recommends residents use the "extra" hour they save from the time change to
test smoke alarms by pushing the test button, planning "two ways out" and
practicing escape routes with the entire family. Families should also
prepare a fire safety kit that includes working flashlights and fresh
batteries.

To save lives and prevent injuries in Lawrence, the Lawrence Douglas County
Fire Medical Department has joined with the International Association of
Fire Chiefs and Energizer for the 16th year of the "Change Your Clock,
Change Your Battery" campaign. The program urges all Americans to adopt a
simple, lifesaving habit: changing smoke alarm batteries when changing
clocks back to standard time each fall, this year on October 26.

-END-

FACT SHEET

Fire Statistics
The Issue: Smoke Alarm Neglect

Although smoke alarms are present in 94 percent of American homes, 20
percent do not work, mostly because of dead or missing batteries. That means
roughly 19 million homes are at risk due to non-working smoke alarms and
another six million homes are at risk due to no smoke alarms.

In the U.S., roughly 80 percent of fire deaths result from fires in homes
without working smoke alarms. Half of the home fire deaths resulted from
fires in the small percentage of homes (six percent) without any smoke
alarms.

If a fire occurs, working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire
nearly in half by providing an early warning and critical extra seconds to
escape.

Eighty-three percent of all civilian fire-related deaths are a result of
home fires.

Smoke alarm maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire
deaths.

The National Fire Alarm Code recommends a minimum of one smoke alarm on each
level of a home, including one inside each bedroom for new construction and
one outside each sleeping area.

In addition to changing smoke alarm batteries, smoke alarms should be
replaced every ten years.

Education is key. Less than one quarter of U.S. homes had smoke alarms in
1977. Although several factors such as safer products, building codes and
life safety education played important roles, increased smoke alarm usage
played a major role in the nearly 50 percent drop in home fire deaths since
that time.


_____________________________
Lisa K. Patterson
Communications Coordinator
City of Lawrence
PO Box 708
Lawrence, KS 66044
(785) 832-3406
fax (785) 832-3405
lpatterson@ci.lawrence.ks.us
http://www.lawrenceks.org