Spring Forward and Check Your Smoke Alarms

Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 13, which is the ideal reminder for homeowners to check smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors while setting clocks forward an hour.

Alarms and detectors are the best way of notifying you and your family of a fire.

State law requires that battery-operated smoke alarms be replaced every 10 years from the date of manufacture. The devices should also be tested at least once a month.

State law also calls for older smoke alarms to be replaced with new, sealed, long-life battery-powered smoke alarms. Hardwired 120-volt electric smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years with new 120-volt smoke alarms with battery backup to ensure proper and timely operation in a fire. Homeowners with hardwired smoke alarms should not replace their devices with battery-powered alarms.

Fire code-compliant smoke alarms can be purchased at most home improvement stores.

For more information visit www.rockvillemd.gov/firesafety or email Carl Young, city fire marshal, at cyoung@rockvillemd.gov.