Smoke alarms placed correctly, act as an early warning device and give people a few crucial minutes' warning to get out of the house quickly in the case of a fire. The Fire Service is finding time and time again that smoke alarms are alerting people to fires and they are able to escape safely. A smoke alarm with a dead battery or no battery is useless. We would like New Zealanders to check their smoke alarms regularly, and feel it would be a start if they used the clocks going forward and back with daylight saving as an ideal opportunity to remind themselves to do so. Some batteries need replacing every year to ensure the smoke alarms will work properly.
Fires start quietly and grow quickly.
You can't smell smoke when you're asleep and can't detect a fire. A smoke alarm sounding could be your first warning there is a fire. The Fire Service recommends that smoke alarms should also be cleaned gently by vacuuming on a regular basis.