Turn Back the Clocks, Not Your Safety: Test, Inspect and Replace any Broken or Expired Smoke/CO Alarms

More than 70% of smoke alarms in homes that are receiving replacement alarms through the Be Alarmed! Program are found to be non-functioning!

Springfield, Ill- The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) reminds residents to test, inspect and replace any broken or expired smoke and CO alarms while they change their clocks this upcoming weekend as daylight saving time comes to an end.

In 2025, there were 136 residential fire deaths in Illinois with a majority of these deaths occurring in homes without smoke alarms. According to the National Fire Protection Association, working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by more than half (60 percent), while the majority of civilian home fire deaths continues to occur in homes with no smoke alarms or no working alarms. Nearly two-thirds (66 percent) of the fatal injuries from fires in homes with smoke alarms occurred in properties with battery-only powered alarms. When present, hardwired smoke alarms operated in 94 percent of the fires considered large enough to trigger a smoke alarm. Missing or non-functional power sources, including missing or disconnected batteries, dead batteries, and disconnected hardwired alarms, were the most common factors when smoke alarms failed to operate.

"As we prepare to turn our clocks back, it's a great reminder to make fire safety a priority at home," said Illinois State Fire Marshal Michele Pankow. "Take time to test your smoke alarms, check their expiration dates, and replace any alarms that are expired or not working properly. Working smoke alarms provide an early warning that can make all the difference in an emergency. While you're at it, review your family's fire escape plan and make sure everyone knows two ways out of every room and where to meet outside. A few simple steps today can help protect the people you love."

Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years to ensure they provide reliable early warning in the event of a fire. If your smoke alarm was manufactured before October 2016, it's time to replace it with a new alarm, preferably one with a 10-year sealed battery. The OSFM, in partnership with Camp I AM Me by the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance and local fire departments, offer the Be Alarmed! Smoke Alarm Installation Program, which provides free smoke alarms and fire safety education to eligible residents. Since the program began in 2018, data shows that more than 70% of the smoke alarms found in participating homes were not functioning. That's a scary statistic!

Modern home furnishings and construction materials can allow fires to spread rapidly, leaving families with less than three minutes to escape in many cases. Working smoke alarms provide critical early warning, but families must also be prepared. Review your home fire escape plan, identify at least two ways out of every room, establish a designated meeting place outside, and practice your escape plan regularly to ensure everyone knows what to do when seconds count.

Here are some tips to help your family prepare or update their home fire escape plan:

• Get everyone in your household together and make a home escape plan. Walk through your home and look for two ways out of every room.
• Make sure escape routes are clear of debris and doors and windows open easily. Windows with security bars or grills should have an emergency release device.
• Plan an outside meeting place where everyone will meet once they have escaped. A good meeting place is something permanent, like a tree, light pole, or mailbox a safe distance in front of the home.
• If there are infants, older adults, family members with mobility limitations or children who do not wake to the sound of the smoke alarm, make sure that someone is assigned to assist them in the event of an emergency.
• If the smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside. Respond quickly - get up and go, remember to know two ways out of every room, get yourself outside quickly, and go to your outside meeting place with your family.
• Once you're out, stay out! Under no circumstances should you ever go back into a burning building. If someone is missing, inform the fire department dispatcher when you call. Firefighters have the skills and equipment to perform rescues.

As the temperatures begin to drop, many Illinois residents will start turning on their furnaces to keep warm. The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) reminds everyone that it's important to have furnaces inspected and cleaned yearly by a licensed HVAC technician to ensure safe operation throughout the heating season.