As the clocks roll back one hour this Sunday, residents are encouraged to take this time to check on another household device.

As our clocks move an hour earlier at 2 a.m. Sunday, residents are encouraged to check and change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. While some smoke detectors are made with 10-year non-replaceable batteries,  Riverside Fire Chief Chad Smothers says any other smoke detector battery must be replaced more frequently, “A lot of times we tell people just to switch the batteries out once a year. You know, pick a time and just always put fresh batteries in them once a year. It’s just kind of a good standard practice.” 

Smothers adds that detectors are good for 7 to 10 years and if residents have one that is older than they should replace it with a new detector. The manufacturing date can be found on the back side of all devices. He says that if your detector is chirping, that means it’s time to replace the batteries right away.