By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – The Nebraska State Fire Marshal's Office says this weekend's time change is also a good opportunity to check your smoke detector.
Daylight Saving Time begins early Sunday morning. Fire Prevention Officer Ray Nance says when you change your clocks, you should also test your smoke alarm and change its batteries if needed. Nance says the best way to test the alarm's sensing device is to use canned smoke. That can be purchased from a hardware store. Nance says you should hold down the button on your smoke alarm to test it instead of just pressing the button.
Statistics from the National Fire Protection Association show that in 31 percent of house fires, smoke detectors are either absent or don't work. Nance says almost two-thirds of all deaths from house fires happen in homes with non-working smoke alarms.