As our nation moves back to Standard Time beginning November 6, 2011, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) encourages everyone to mark the occasion as a time to test home smoke alarms and replace the batteries if they are more than one year old.

Every day in the United States, needless home fire deaths occur.  Working smoke alarms significantly increase the chance of surviving a deadly home fire.  A properly installed and maintained smoke alarm is the only thing in your home that can alert you and your family to a fire 24 hours per day, seven days per week.  Whether you are awake or asleep, a working smoke alarm is constantly on alert, scanning the air for fire and smoke.

In addition to changing your smoke alarm batteries this weekend, the USFA recommends following these simple steps to protect your life, your loved ones and your home:

• Dust or vacuum smoke alarms when you change the batteries.
• Test alarms once per month using the test button.
• Replace the entire alarm if it is more than 10 years old or doesn't work properly when tested.
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, both inside and outside of sleeping areas.
• For the best protection, equip your home with a combination of ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual sensor alarms.
• Interconnect all smoke alarms throughout your home so that when one sounds, they all sound.  Interconnected alarms are available in most stores that sell smoke alarms.
• Make sure everyone in your home understands the warning of the smoke alarm and knows how to respond.
• Prepare and practice an escape plan so that you and your loved ones can get out of your home safely, should there be a fire.  Plan to meet in a place a safe distance from the fire and where the first responders can easily see you.

For more information on smoke alarms, fire escape planning, and fire prevention, visit the USFA website at www.usfa.fema.gov/smokealarms.

When you've finished checking your smoke alarm batteries, don't forget to reset your clocks, because we "fall back" one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 6.