Smoke alarm batteries need annual change

Published 12:00 am Saturday, October 7, 2000

L’Observateur / October 7, 2000

DEAR EDITOR: This is a letter that can save lives in St. Charles Parish and the Luling firedistrict.

The simple, yet powerful, act of changing the batteries in smoke alarms when you change your clock on Oct. 29 can cut a family’s risk of dying in ahome fire by half! As a 22-year fire service veteran, I have witnessed first-hand the tragedy of devastation of home fires. It’s even more heartbreaking when a young life iscut short. Each day, an average of nearly three children die in home fires.Overall, 84 percent of home fire deaths in this country occur in homes without working smoke alarms.

Considering that a residential fire ignites every 85 seconds and fire deaths peak in winter months, it just makes sense to change your smoke alarm batteries each and every fall. Additionally, ICHIEFS recommends replacingyour smoke alarms every 10 years.

We hope you will join the International Association of Fire Chiefs (ICHIEFS), Luling Volunteer Fire Department and Energizer-brand batteries, our “Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery” partner for 13 years – in sharing this lifesaving information with your readers.

John Heath

Public Information Officer

Luling Volunteer Fire Department

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