Dale Whitaker, Austin Fire Dept. Working smoke detectors can cut the chance of dying in a home fire nearly in half by providing the extra time critical for safe escape.
Most home fires occur at night when people are sleeping.
A working smoke detector will sound an alarm while there is still time to get out alive. Nationally, nearly 90 percent of all homes have smoke detectors, but it is estimated that one-quarter of those don't work because of worn or missing batteries. AFD recommends replacing smoke detector batteries at least once a year, even if they appear to be working fine. Unfortunately, when detectors start 'chirping' to indicate that the batteries need to be replaced, many people disconnect the detector to stop the noise, not having another battery on hand. Replacing batteries when the time changes is an easy way to remember this important task.