By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
We lose an hour of sleep tonight.
Some want the switch to Daylight Savings Time to serve as an important reminder.
Daylight Savings Time begins overnight as we set our clocks up one hour and both the American Red Cross and the State Fire Marshal use this time to remind residents to change the batteries in their smoke alarms.
The American Red Cross of Missouri and Arkansas reports it has helped nearly 2,500 families with urgent needs like emergency lodging, financial assistance, and recovery after nearly 2,000 home fires.
“Home fires remain the nation’s most frequent disaster during COVID-19,” Chris Harmon, Regional Disaster Officer for the Missouri Arkansas Region, said in a written statement. “This weekend, take a moment to test your smoke alarms to help protect your family against home fires.”
The Red Cross reports working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire by half.
The Red Cross recommends:
· Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas. Test alarms monthly and replace the batteries at least once a year if your model requires it.
· Replace smoke alarms that are 10 years or older. That’s because the sensor becomes less sensitive over time. Check the date of your smoke alarms and follow the instructions.
· Practice your two-minute escape plan. Make sure everyone in your household can get out in less than two minutes — the amount of time you may have to escape a burning home before it’s too late. Include at least two ways to get out of every room and select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as your neighbor’s home or landmark like a specific tree in your front yard, where everyone can meet.
Visit redcross.org/fire for more information, including an escape plan to practice with your family.
The Red Cross reports a family has just two minutes to escape a home fire to safety.
Missouri Fire Marshal Tim Bean also recommends changing smoke alarm batteries when “springing” clocks head. Bean also recommends families practice their family escape plan regularly.
Bean says should get into the habit of regularly planning how to evacuate their home in the event of a fire.
"Your risk of dying in a fire is reduced by one-half if you have a working smoke alarm in your home,” Fire Marshal Bean said in a written statement released by his office. “Having working smoke alarms in your home is one of simplest and most important things you can do to protect your family. Three of five home fire deaths occur in homes without working smoke alarms.”
Bean says every family member, including children, should know two escape routes from every room in their residence. Parents should also go over fire evacuation plans with babysitters. Bean says about half of home fire deaths occur between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when the family is asleep.
The Fire Marshal recommends:
· Explain the family escape plan, including the location of the designated outside meeting place, to overnight guests.
· Show guests the two escape routes from the room in which they will be staying.
· Make sure guests know the address of your home so that they will be able to call 911 once safely out of the house.
· If you host a children’s “sleep over” party, make sure to show them the two escape routes from the room in which they will be staying.
Bean also reminds Missourians that they should have carbon monoxide alarms for their homes. Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, tasteless, invisible gas that results from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, which can be deadly if undetected.
The Fire Marshal also recommendations:
· Check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly by pushing the test button.
· Replace smoke alarms every 10 years because they lose their effectiveness over time.
· Install additional smoke alarms if you don’t have a minimum of one alarm on every level of the home, inside all bedrooms, and outside bedrooms.
· Plan two different escape routes from your home and practice the routes with the entire family.
Daylight Savings Time officially begins a 2 a.m. Sunday.