Community Corner

With Daylight Saving Time, OCFA Has a Message

OC Fire Authority has a recommendation every time the clock falls back or, as is the case Sunday, springs forward.

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning  That means you'll be robbed of an hour's sleep.

Daylight saving time (DST) is the practice of advancing the clock forward an hour so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. That means it will remain darker in the morning longer, but it will get darker later in the evening.

According to the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), it's a good reminder to change the batteries in the smoke alarms in your home.

Find out what's happening in Rancho Santa Margaritawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Nationally, approximately 75% of failed smoke alarms are due to missing or dead batteries. Smoke alarms over 10 years old should be replaced as well as the batteries.

“Smoke alarms save lives,” says OCFA Fire Marshal Laura Blaul. “The smoke alarm provides extra time to exit your home, greatly increasing your chance of survival in a house fire. In over 70% of home fires and nearly all fire deaths in Orange County, no working smoke alarm was present. They are one of the best safety devices you can buy and install to protect you and your family. There is no excuse not to ensure yours are working today.”

Find out what's happening in Rancho Santa Margaritawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The OCFA smoke alarm program “Install, Inspect, Protect” was developed in an effort to save lives and property. Key components include:

  • Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home, inside each sleeping area, and in every hallway leading to sleeping areas.
  • Test hard-wired and battery-operated smoke alarms every month; change batteries twice a year, when changing clocks, in both hard-wired and and battery operated smoke alarms; clean the alarm every year.
  • Make a home escape plan and ensure that everyone in the household knows the sound the alarm makes and what to do when they hear it; identify two ways out of each room and designate a meeting place outside the home to account for family members in the event of an emergency; practice home fire drills every six months and remember to crawl low under the smoke and go; call 911 immediately and ensure that everyone knows your home escape plan.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported about 3,000 people perish annually in residential fires nationwide. The cause of death in most of those cases was fire and toxic gas inhalation.


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