Full Notification

News Release
October 30, 2015

NOVATO FIRE DISTRICT
Change Your Clock-Check Your Smoke Alarm

Novato, CA- This year the Novato Fire District encourages everyone to check all alarms, especially when you change your clock this weekend. Officially, November 1st, Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m. marks Daylight Savings Time where we turn back our clocks by one hour or better yet, just turn it back one hour before you go to sleep on Saturday, October 31st.

Ensuring you have working smoke alarms in your home is the single most important step you can take to increase your family's safety from a home fire. Also, be sure to replace any smoke alarm that is 10 years old or older. Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms are now available as “tamper resistant” or 10 year alarm. This means the battery can’t be removed and the battery has been tested to last about 10 years.

To test your alarm properly, it is recommended;

1) Push the test button to be sure the battery is working.
2) When replacing batteries, follow the manufacturer's instructions for the correct battery type to use.
3) Always retest alarms after installing new batteries.
4) Replace any alarm that fails to operate after installing a new battery.
5) Inspect your alarms to determine if they are 10 years old or older, and replace any smoke alarm 10 years old or older. Look for a date on the back of the alarm. If there is no date, your alarm is more than 10 years old and should be replaced.
6) Follow the manufacturer's instructions for regularly cleaning your alarms of dust and cobwebs.

Working smoke alarms provide a critical early warning to a fire, allowing you vital minutes to escape, which increase your chances of survival. Additional safety tips:
 Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, in each
bedroom and outside each sleeping area.

 Never disconnect or remove batteries from smoke alarms for
other uses.

 Use the smoke alarms’ hush feature to silence nuisance alarms.

 Make a home fire escape plan and practice it with family
members.