As the nights get cooler and the need to keep the house warm is top of mind, fire officials say it’s never a bad idea to check your carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms.
Some may think if your smoke alarm is not making any noise and is running good there may not be an issue, but that is not always the case, as there is a sensor within the alarm consistently monitoring air samples, but over time the sensor can worsen and become inaccurate says Grande Prairie Fire Department Fire Marshal Chris Renyk.
“If you’ve got anything older then 10 years it’s time to upgrade or change, because it is not burning accurate sponsors.”
Renyk is also reminding the community to check your alarms as often as once a month to make sure they’re still in good working order.
“We always recommend that you are checking your smoke alarms regularly, make sure you are not only testing them, on a monthly basis but you are also changing out the batteries on an annual basis.”
Renyk says having a fire alarm is crucial, but so is a carbon monoxide detector and if you have a basement he recommends switching to a dual alarm that will cover both of the threats.
“If you have the opportunity to update your old smoke alarm into a combination one that detects smoke and CO especially for your basements.”
