Change Your Clock ("fall back"), Change Your Battery

State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan says, "One of the best things we can do as we get our homes ready for winter is to make sure smoke and carbon monoxide alarms have fresh batteries. A working smoke alarm is your first line of defense in a fire. Time is your enemy in a fire and working smoke alarms give you precious time to use your home escape plan before poisonous gases and heat make escape impossible."

Coan also said, "We change our clocks the day after Halloween on November 1, so remember when you change your clocks, change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms." 

When changing your alarm's batteries check to see if your alarms need to be replaced. Smoke alarms last about 10 years and older carbon monoxide alarms last five-seven years. There are some new smoke and CO alarms that come with a sealed 10-year lithium battery. The batteries in these alarms never need changing, but the entire alarm needs to be replaced every 10 years.

For more information on smoke alarms in Massachusetts contact your local fire prevention office or go to: www.mass.gov/dfs and type 'Smoke Alarms' in the search box.