Press release

Use this extra hour this weekend to remind family and friends to change their smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries and make a positive change in our community!

Daylight saving time ends Sunday, November 4th, and marks the 25th anniversary of the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery program, sponsored by Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs, which reminds us to change and test the batteries in our smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. This message is simple and the habit can be lifesaving.

The Asheville Fire Department would like to remind residents that one easy step can help save their lives and the lives of those around them. Take the extra hour gained to change the batteries in your own smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, test the alarms and remind friends, family and neighbors to do the same. “Eighty percent of child fire fatalities occur in homes without working smoke alarms. It’s a tragic statistic that could be reduced by adopting the simple habit of the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery program,” says Chief Burnette.

Changing smoke alarm batteries twice a year, testing those alarms and reminding others to do the same are some of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths and injuries. Additionally, the International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends that smoke alarms in homes be replaced every 10 years and to have both ionization and photo electric smoke alarms to alert people to all types of home fires.