Philadelphia Fire Department reminds residents to check their smoke alarms for Daylight Saving Time

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Philadelphia Fire Department is asking people to check their smoke alarms as they check their clocks for Daylight Saving Time.

Lisa Forrest, the president of Club Valiants, showed Action News how she checks her smoke alarm to make sure it works properly.

"My detector was manufactured in December of 2020, which means I have 10 years from that date. As long as that date functions well, I can keep this up for 10 years from that date. If it does not function well, it's time to get a new one," said Forrest.

Executive Captain Derek Bowmer with the Philadelphia Fire Department said now is the time to check the battery on your smoke alarm.

If you don't have a battery on your smoke alarm or if you don't have a smoke alarm, call 311.

The city is just asking for your patience as they make the rounds to come and install them.

"Just like everything that's going on with COVID, we have a little backlog. But we will get to you 311 will take your name and your number, and we're keeping a running total," said Bowmer.

Bowmer brought up the fatal fire in Fairmount earlier this year.

"Since February since the tragedy in Fairmount, we have really put a lot of smoke alarms into what people have requested," added Bowmer.

Club Valiants also ramped up its effort to hand out smoke alarms after the Fairmount tragedy.

"We knocked on doors, and we put smoke alarms up hundreds of smoke alarms up," said Forrest.

If you can't wait for the fire department to come and install a smoke alarm, you can find one at a hardware store, where you can also pick up a carbon monoxide detector.

"We're still in the winter season for two more weeks, I guess as you see how cold it is, so we want to ensure that people have their carbon monoxide detectors," said Bowmer. "The fire department does not give those out, but we want to ensure everyone has those to be safe because we're turning the heat on and everything like that."

Another safety reminder firefighters say is to sleep with your bedroom door closed to prevent smoke or fire from spreading into your room.