# 2022 Fall Change Your Clock/Change Your Battery Campaign

/ Published Nov. 2, 2022
Richmond, Va., 
Defense Logistics Agency Installation Management Richmond, Virginia’s Fire and Emergency personnel  welcome Fall’s 2022, “Change Your Clock – Change Your Battery” event, returning to standard time Sunday, November 06.It’s time to turn your clocks back, and the Fire and Emergency’s Fire Prevention Office would like to encourage everyone to change the batteries in your home detectors at the same time.

According to 2021 statistics by the National Fire Protection Association, there were approximately 1,353,500 fires in the U.S.  with 3,800 deaths and 14,700 injuries. In addition to the injuries and deaths, there was $15.9 billion in property damage, and home structure fires were reported approximately every 93 seconds.

Of these fires, the NFPA reported:
      - Smoke alarms were present in 74% of reported home fires from 2014 to 2018 .
      - Almost three out of five home fire deaths were caused by fires in properties with no smoke alarms or smoke alarms that failed to operate.
      - The risk of dying in reported home structure fires is 55% lower in homes with working smoke alarms than in homes with no alarms or none that worked.
      - When present, hardwired smoke alarms operated in 94% of the fires considered large enough to trigger a smoke alarm. Battery-powered alarms operated 82% of the time. Power source issues were the most common factors when smoke alarms failed to operate.

Even though fatal fires often occur late in the evening or the wee hours of the mornings when individuals are usually asleep, one critical instrument in saving lives is to install smoke alarms. Appropriately installed and maintained, smoke alarms save lives and protect against injury and loss due to fire.  You double your chances of survival increase in a home fire with working smoke alarms compared to homes without working smoke alarms.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, in 2022 alone, Virginia reported 43 home fire deaths from Jan. 1 - through Oct. 26.

Here are some safety tips to keep your family safe:
      - It is best to use interconnected smoke alarms. When one smoke alarm sounds, they all sound.
      - Install smoke alarms inside and outside each bedroom and sleeping area. Install alarms on every level of the home. Install alarms in the basement.
      - Test all smoke alarms at least once a month. Press the test button to be sure the alarm is working.
      - A smoke alarm should be on the ceiling or high on a wall. Keep smoke alarms away from the kitchen to reduce false alarms. They should be at least 10 feet from the stove.
      - People who are hard-of-hearing or deaf can use special alarms. These alarms have strobe lights and bed shakers.
      - Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old.

The Fire Prevention Office also encourages everyone who has a carbon monoxide alarm to change the batteries in them as well.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that can kill you before you are even aware it is in your house. It causes side effects such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, disorientation and fatigue that are often mistaken for the flu. These effects can vary greatly from person to person depending on age, overall health and length of exposure.