Proven Life-Savers When They Work; Test Batteries When Turning Clocks Ahead
| Contact: | Guillermo Cole, Health Department
412-578-8004 office |
The Allegheny County Health Department is reminding residents that smoke alarms are proven life-savers but only when they are in good working order.
Since nearly half of all smoke alarms don’t work, usually because of dead or missing batteries, health officials recommend testing smoke alarm batteries to make sure they work when turning clocks ahead to Daylight Saving Time on March 14.
Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in house fire by 50%, yet most residential fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or in homes with alarms too old to be reliable or which have missing, disconnected or dead batteries.
The Health Department has a free smoke alarm program to help residents who have no smoke alarms or ones more than 10 years old which may no longer be reliable.
The program, funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, provides and installs a maximum of two battery-operated smoke alarms per home.
To schedule an installation, please call the Health Department at 412-247-7800.
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Visit our web site at: www.achd.net