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Posted at: 11/01/2009 11:01 PM Safety Reminders for Daylight Saving Time(ABC 6 NEWS) -- According to the State Fire Marshal, there are no working smoke detectors in 75% of all fatal house fires in Minnesota. And now, officials are urging you to check your fire equipment as you set your clocks back. Checking her smoke detector when the time changes has become a habit for homeowner Karen Hunt. "I do that every spring and fall," said homeowner Hunt. But it's not a habit for everyone. Just last week a Rochester family was displaced from their home after a mattress fire, and the fire department says the smoke detectors in the home had no batteries in them. Fire officials say this happens all too often. "It's not uncommon to actually be at a residential fire and find the smoke detector doesn't function," said fire Captain Scott Hanna. According to the National Fire Protection Association a third of homes with smoke detectors don't have working batteries. "For the investment of a smoke detector and batteries twice a year, we can insure the life safety and the property that you work so hard for, compare that to any other insurance program you won't find anything that is more cost effective, they’re easy to check, they’re easy to put in, and they’re easy to maintain," said Hanna. Fire departments say you can double your chances of surviving a fire by simply having a working smoke detector. "Fire doubles in size every minute to two minutes so a small fire turns into a large fire very quickly, when you’re talking about possibly a fire starting in another room of a house and burning for a few minutes before it gets a smoke detector even. You don't have a lot of time to get out of a house safely," said Hanna. Now is also the time to check fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors. "Your nose goes to sleep when you go to sleep, so the idea you're going to hear a noise or smell smoke in time to get up and get oriented and get out of the house, just isn't true," said Hanna. And while it may be hard to imagine a house fire ever happening to Hunt, she wants to take steps to protect herself. "I like to have the security," said Hunt. If you need help checking or installing fire safety equipment you can call your local fire department for help. The Austin Fire Department is even giving away batteries this week to people who need them.
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