Changing your clocks great time check smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors: London fire

Get ready to fall back this weekend.

Daylight saving time ends as of 2 a.m. Sunday as we gain an extra hour of sleep in our return to standard time.

While many will rejoice at the prospect of a little extra shuteye, local fire officials want to make sure you take this opportunity to do a few safety checks around your home.

“What we recommend is that when you change your clocks, change your batteries, and then you’ll do it twice a year, once in the spring, once in the fall, to make sure you and your family are protected from the effects of smoke and carbon monoxide,” said Jack Burt, assistant deputy fire chief.

Burt said along with a smoke alarm, any Ontario home that has a gas-fired appliance, wood stove or an attached garage also has to have a carbon monoxide detector.

“It is frequent that we do come across homes that don’t have carbon monoxide alarms, and it is troubling. It’s not only the law, it’s the fact that, without that, you don’t have the ability to protect your family from this colourless, odourless, tasteless gas,” he said.

“I often tell people, if you could spend $20 to $30 to save you and your family’s life tonight, would you spend it? That’s the cost of a carbon monoxide alarm.”

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Burt also said you should check your alarms every month.

Right now London is in the middle of Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, which runs until Tuesday, Nov. 7.