Keep safety in mind while springing forward, says Charlottetown Fire Department

The Charlottetown Fire Department is reminding Islanders as they spring forward this weekend to also change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Clocks will need to be adjusted ahead, by one hour on Sunday to align with Daylight Saving Time. 

"We like to do it twice a year because smoke alarms are such an important life-saving device," said Charlottetown Fire Inspector Winston Bryan. 

The department will give out batteries at the P.E.I. Provincial Home Show at the Eastlink Centre over the weekend and from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. today, March 7, at McDonald's on University Avenue in Charlottetown. 

"Two big avenues that we can get out there and give out a nine-volt battery and talk to residents of the city," Bryan said.

Bryan said he enjoys having the opportunity to chat with Islanders and answer their questions about fire safety.

"You get a lot of good comments," he said. "A battery-operated smoke alarm should be changed every 10 years, you know, people don't know that." 

He said he gets a lot of questions surrounding the number of fire alarms that should be installed in homes and where they should be placed. 

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