It’s that time of year again – before you go to bed Saturday night, go through your house and turn all of your clocks back one hour, because Daylight Saving Time ends at two Sunday morning. While you’re at it, the Louisiana Office of the State Fire Marshal also urges you to check your smoke detectors. Chief Chad Sonnier says the process is very simple.
“Just push the test button and make sure that they work. We recommend, if you have to change the battery, to make sure that they’re good for another year,” Sonnier advised.
You hear fire officials say time and time again that smoke alarms save lives, and Chief Sonnier says an incident in West Monroe back in early September epitomizes that sentiment.
“In the middle of the night, when everybody was sleeping, the smoke alarm activated as a result of the fire. It woke up and alerted the family, and they were able to safely get out; because when a fire starts, you only have several seconds to get out,” Sonnier noted.
Sonnier says the fire marshal’s office will go to great lengths to make sure everyone has a working smoke detector inside his or her home.
“If you can’t afford one, for whatever reason, reach out to us on our webpage and we’ll be more than happy to partner with your local fire department to go out and install that smoke detector at no cost to you and your family,” Sonnier explained.
