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[STK]
[IN] HOU REA CHM
[SU] PSF EXE
-- WITH PHOTO -- TO NATIONAL EDITORS:
Change Batteries in Smoke and CO Alarms When Moving Clocks One Hour
Forward This Weekend
WASHINGTON, March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Do you have smoke
and carbon monoxide alarms in your home? Are they working? Sunday,
March 9, marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time in the United
States. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges
consumers to take the time to replace batteries in smoke and carbon
monoxide (CO) alarms when turning clocks forward this weekend. Make
it an annual habit. This habit could save your life.
Working smoke and CO alarms, which means having fresh batteries, adds
an important layer of safety to your home. According to the National
Fire Protection Association (NFPA), two-thirds of fire deaths occur in
homes without working smoke alarms. There are more than 362,000 home
fires every year and more than 2,200 people die in them, according to
CPSC's latest Residential Fire Loss Estimates report.
Batteries in battery-powered alarms need to be replaced every year. In
addition, CPSC recommends that consumers test their alarms every month
to make sure they are working. Smoke alarms should be placed on every
level of the home, inside each bedroom, and outside sleeping areas.
Although more than 90 percent of U.S. homes report having at least one
working smoke alarm, only 42 percent report having a working CO alarm,
based on 2011 U.S. Census Bureau data. CO alarms can alert you and
your family to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide inside your home.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
more than 400 people die each year in the United States from CO
poisoning.
Carbon monoxide is called the invisible killer, because you cannot see
or smell it. This poisonous gas can come from many sources, including
cars, furnaces and portable generators, and can quickly incapacitate
and kill its victims.
Put CO alarms on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas.
Like smoke alarms, CO alarms need fresh batteries every year. CO
alarms also should be tested once a month to make sure they are
working.
Photo available at
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting
the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with
the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's
jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer
product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC
is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that
pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to
ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power
tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals - contributed to a
decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer
products over the past 40 years.
Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a
publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory
recall ordered by the Commission.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to
www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or
teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers
can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on
Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.
Media Contact Please use the phone numbers below for all media
requests. Phone: (301) 504-7908 Spanish: (301) 504-7800
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20030904/USCSCLOGO
SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
-0- 03/06/2014
/Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20030904/USCSCLOGO
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
/Web Site: http://www.cpsc.gov
CO: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
ST: District of Columbia
IN: HOU REA CHM
SU: PSF EXE
PRN
-- DC77903 --
0000 03/06/2014 14:00:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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