Before you go to bed Saturday night, make sure you set your clock ahead one hour. Daylight Savings Time begins officially at 2 am Sunday morning, and the DC Fire & EMS Department is reminding everyone to change the batteries in their smoke alarms.

It is recommended that smoke alarm batteries be tested once per month and replaced every sixth months – around the time you change your clock. In the District, every household is entitled to have a smoke alarm installed free of charge. Simply call (202) 673-3331 and arrange a time for firefighters to come to your home and install perhaps the most important safety equipment you will ever have.

“I hope everyone takes this opportunity to make their homes as safe possible,” said DC Fire & EMS Chief Dennis L. Rubin. In a typical year, more than 4,000 Americans will die in a fire.  A smoke alarm can more than double a person’s chance of surviving a fire in their home.