DAYLIGHT saving will end on Sunday signalling it is time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms.
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At 3am Sunday, April 5 clocks in NSW go back one hour.
Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters use the date as a safety reminder for homeowners.
Nowra station officer Ian Walters said a smoke alarm with a flat battery was just as risky as not having a smoke alarm at all.
“A fire can take hold in just three minutes, filling your home with deadly smoke. A working smoke alarm gives you vital seconds to get out before you’re overcome,” he said.
He said elderly people or people with a disability should contact their local fire station and ask about the Smoke Alarm Battery Replacement program. Eligible residents can have a firefighter drop in to change their smoke alarm batteries free of charge.
According to Fire and Rescue NSW 13 per cent of the 3900 house fires in NSW last year occurred in properties without a working smoke alarm.
More than half of fatal house fires between 2000 and 2014 had no smoke alarms. The majority of those fires occurred between midnight and 6am when people were asleep.
Station officer Walters said the legal minimum requirement was for one smoke alarm per level inside a dwelling.
“I recommend having a smoke alarm installed in all bedrooms for maximum protection”, he said.
“FRNSW recommend householders install photoelectric, interconnected and hard-wired smoke alarms.”
Phone the Nowra Fire Station on 4421 4754 to ask about the Smoke Alarm Battery Replacement (SABRE) program.
