Turn Your Clocks Ahead and Check Smoke Detector Batteries Too

A sure sign of spring is the annual turning of the clock ahead by one hour Sunday morning at 2 a.m. with the arrival of Daylight Saving Time meaning more light at the end of the day.

It also means it's a good time to change the batteries in your smoke, fire and carbon monoxide detectors.

“Eighty percent of child fire fatalities occur in homes without working smoke alarms," Dover Fire Chief Paul Haas said. "It’s a tragic statistic that could be reduced by ensuring you have an appropriate number of smoke detectors where you live and adopting the simple habit of changing your batteries when you change your clocks. If you have hardwired detectors, replacing the batteries at these intervals helps to ensure they can withstand the duration of a potential power outage at any time during the year.”

The Northern New England Red Cross also suggests replacing smoke alarms that are over 10 years or older because the sensor can become less sensitive over time.

New Hampshire has had five fatalities from fires this year, State Fire Marshal Paul Parisi told WMUR TV.  The the most recent was at a home on Spruce Court in Seabrook Wednesday night. Officer David Hersey of the Seabrook Police Department ran into the home and was able to rescue one of the residents.

As for Daylight Saving Time itself becoming permanent that seems to be a long way off.

Maine has a law on the books that would move the state into Atlantic Standard Time if New Hampshire and Massachusetts were to do the same. Legislation was introduced in 2017 in New Hampshire by Hillsborough County Republican Representative Keith Murphy to make that move but thw was killed.

Testimony during a hearing by the Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee said in January if the state were in the AST there would be daylight from 7:47 a.m. to 5:51 p.m.

There was also concern during testimony before the Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee about how border states along the Connecticut River would handle having different time zones.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH