[Press Release] : Change Your Clocks - Change Your Battery!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Battalion Chief Steven Sapp - (573) 499-7035

Help save lives in your community: make a lifesaving change this
weekend
Change Your Clocks - Change Your Battery!
 
COLUMBIA, MO (October 28, 2008) - As the time change approaches on
Sunday, Nov. 2, the Columbia Fire Department reminds residents to make
another change that could save their lives - changing the batteries in
their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

Communities nationwide witness tragic home fire deaths each year. An
average of two children per day die in home fires and 80 percent of
those occur in homes without working 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: dead or missing batteries.

Changing smoke alarm batteries at least once a year is one of the most
simple, effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths and injuries. In
fact, working smoke alarms nearly cut in half the risk of dying in a
home fire. Additionally, the International Association of Fire Chiefs
recommends replacing your smoke alarms every 10 years.

To save lives and prevent needless injuries in Columbia, the Columbia
Fire Department has joined forces with Energizer and the International
Association of Fire Chiefs for the 21st year of the "Change Your Clock,
Change Your Battery®" campaign. The program urges all Americans to adopt
a simple, lifesaving habit: changing smoke alarm and carbon monoxide
detector batteries when changing clocks back to standard time each fall,
this year on Nov. 2.

“The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
when most families are sleeping,” says Battalion Chief Steven Sapp.
“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, Sapp recommends residents use the “extra” hour they
save from the time change to test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide
detectors 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.

Tragically, fire can kill selectively. Those most at risk include:

● Children - About 600 children under the age of 20 die each year in
home fires. Children under age 5 are at twice the risk of dying in a
home fire. Eighty percent of fatal home fire victims who were children
were killed in homes without working smoke alarms.

● Seniors - Adults over age 75 are three times more likely to die in
home fires than the rest of the population; those over 85 are 4.5 times
more likely to die in a home fire. Many seniors are unable to escape
quickly.

● Low-Income Households - Many low-income families are unable to
afford batteries for their smoke alarms. These same households often
rely on poorly installed, maintained or misused portable or area heating
equipment - a main cause of fatal home fires.

For more information about fire safety, call the Columbia Fire
Department at (573) 874-7556 for a free brochure or visit
www.GoColumbiaMo.com.


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