SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is reminding residents this weekend to test, check for expired alarms and replace batteries in their smoke alarms as they change clocks this weekend.
“Working smoke alarms are critical to preventing serious injuries and death in the case of a house fire,” said State Fire Marshall Matt Perez. “It only takes a couple of extra minutes to push the test button on smoke alarm or CO alarm to ensure it’s working.
“Replacing broken or expired alarms not only helps to create a fire-safe home, but working alarms provide early warning helping prevent loss of life due to fire”
Through the efforts of the “Be Alarmed” program, Perez says 1,655 10-year smoke alarms were installed in Illinois homes in 2020 through 185 participating fire departments.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), almost three out of every five home fire deaths in the U.S. resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or non-working smoke alarms between 2012-2016.
OSFM says the time change serves as a bi-annual reminder to test all smoke and CO alarms in the home.
A 2017 Illinois law requires ten-year sealed smoke alarms be installed in all homes built before 1988 or that do not have hardwired smoke detectors by January 1, 2023.
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