Change your clocks, change your batteries this weekend

The Cedar Rapids Fire Department is encouraging citizens to change the batteries in their smoke alarms when they change their clocks to Daylight Savings Time this Sunday, March 11th.

The Fire Department will partner with the Grant Wood Chapter of the American Red Cross for the annual “Battery Up” campaign from Thursday, March 8th through Saturday, March 10th.  As of today, 167 households have signed up through the Red Cross for assistance.  Red Cross volunteers and Cedar Rapids firefighters will replace worn or missing batteries in smoke alarms and perform a home fire safety inspection.  The program is designed for senior citizens and physically-challenged citizens who need assistance installing and maintaining smoke alarms.

The Fire Department is recommending that citizens install dual sensor smoke alarms, which are smoke alarms that use two different detection methods for identifying fires.  Dual sensor smoke alarms, which include a photoelectric and ionization sensor, cover a broad range of fires, making them much safer than single sensor alarms.  Photoelectric sensors are effective at detecting slow, smoldering fires like fires which start in mattresses, couches, carpeting and drapes.  Ionization sensors detect a sudden burst of flame, such as the flames produced from a grease fire.  The combined sensors work together to alert occupants of smoky conditions and fire.

A working smoke alarm can decrease a family's risk of dying in a fire by nearly 50 percent.  Last year in Cedar Rapids, working smoke alarms were confirmed in only 37 percent of all residential fires.

Batteries from household smoke alarms may be recycled at the Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency locations at 2250 A Street SW and 1954 County Home Road, Marion.