The same time that you set your clocks back for daylight saving time is a great time to make sure your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are in good working order.
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00:00 Well, daylight saving time ends this weekend as much of America falls back an hour.
00:04 It's also a good time to stay on top of a few simple things that can keep you and your
00:08 family safe this fall and winter.
00:10 So AccuWeather meteorologist Tony Lovac is live with more.
00:13 Tony, what do you have for us?
00:19 Well Jeff, we are talking about daylight savings time.
00:21 It's really everybody's favorite time change because most of us fall back, meaning an extra
00:25 hour of sleep, but that also means a few items on your checklist to go over.
00:30 This weekend as you turn back the clocks, the Red Cross wants to encourage everybody
00:34 to test the functionality of their smoke alarms.
00:37 Daylight savings time comes to an end this weekend.
00:40 With that time change comes time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors.
00:44 You should consistently change those batteries so then you don't have to worry about that
00:48 annoying chirping sound going off at 2 o'clock in the morning.
00:51 And you can have the comfort knowing that that device is functional, it's going to work.
00:57 If you've had your device for a long time, it may be time to change it out.
01:01 If your device happens to be 10 years or older, go ahead and just replace it or contact your
01:05 local Red Cross and we will go ahead and replace it for you.
01:08 Similarly, you should also check on your carbon monoxide detectors, but it is recommended
01:12 if you're putting in new ones to not get the dual function detectors.
01:16 The placement of those is going to be completely different.
01:19 Your carbon monoxide detector should actually be close to the ground as far as placement
01:23 is concerned because carbon monoxide does fall, whereas smoke is going to rise.
01:28 So your smoke alarms are going to need to be on the ceiling or in a portion of the wall
01:34 that's going to be a little bit higher.
01:35 It is also a great time to check the condition of any fire extinguishers you have in your
01:39 home as well as go over the plan to get out of your house should trouble fire up.
01:43 Everybody needs to be able to escape your home in about two minutes or less to ensure
01:47 that you are out of that home in time before any kind of smoke or any kind of the chemicals
01:54 and fumes that come from the burning of a home are really going to impact you.
02:00 And you also want to practice and denote with your family where that meeting location is
02:03 going to be outside the home as well.
02:05 Making a little time for this over the weekend will go a long way in keeping you and your
02:09 family safe.
02:11 Now, of course, remember that extra hour is going to happen Saturday night into Sunday.
02:19 So before you go to bed, you're going to want to set those clocks back.
02:21 And at some point this weekend, do all of that.
02:24 And probably another good idea to remind you to change the furnace filters that you have
02:29 as well, because a lot of us has been mentioned constantly throughout the day, the cold air
02:32 for really the first time for a lot of folks.
02:34 So you're turning on those furnaces for the first time.
02:36 Certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure you're breathing in some cleaner air for you
02:41 as you get into the November and colder months that are already befalling some of us.
02:47 All right.
02:48 Very good there, Tony Lovack.
02:49 Thank you.
02:50 Kind of looking forward to a little bit of a brighter sky in the morning with the bus
02:52 stop at the kids or at the bus stop with the kids.
02:55 It's a little dark this week.