Tulsa Firefighters Urge Residents To Save Lives As They 'Spring Forward'

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Firefighters have a life-saving tip and a reminder to spring forward this weekend. Daylight Saving Time goes into affect March 13, and Tulsa residents are reminded to set their clocks forward before going to bed Saturday night.

Tulsa firefighters urge all residents to use the time change as a reminder to replace the batteries in their smoke detectors.

Working smoke detectors can decrease the risk of dying in a house fire by nearly 50 percent by providing an early warning and critical time to escape, according to a release from the Tulsa Fire Department.

Although 82 percent of American homes have smoke detectors, about a third of those detectors are useless because the batteries are dead or missing.

Other life-saving tips:

• Install smoke detectors on every level of the home, including basements, inside each bedroom and outside of every sleeping area.
• Sleep with bedroom doors closed.
• Test smoke detectors monthly by pushing the "test" button, which will activate the alarm.
• Smoke alarms are available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. These devices use strobe lights and can have vibration equipment added to them.
• Be sure your alarm has the label of a recognized testing laboratory.
• Smoke alarms are an important part of a home fire escape plan. Make sure your family has a plan in case of fire.
• Smoke alarms that include a record able voice announcement, in addition to the usual alarm sound, may be helpful in waking children through use of a familiar voice.