With daylight saving ending this weekend, South Australia’s fire services are reminding the community to change smoke alarm batteries as the clocks go back one hour on April 3. 

Ryan Baohm, Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) Community Engagement Officer, says changing smoke alarm batteries as daylight saving ends is an Australian tradition that’s too important to ignore. 

“Statistics show that on average, more people die nationally in domestic house fires, than all the natural disasters like bushfires and floods per year. 

“Nearly half of all significant house fires in South Australia involve homes where smoke alarms had been disabled, or the batteries had gone flat. 

“The majority of fatalities in house fires are caused by smoke inhalation. Getting an early warning from your smoke alarm is critical to your safety, changing smoke alarm batteries is the best way to give you and your family the earliest opportunity to evacuate safely. 

“If you have elderly family or neighbours living alone, offer to help them out by fitting new batteries for them,” MFS Community Engagement Officer Baohm says. 

MFS and SA Country Fire Service (CFS) firefighters respond to hundreds of house fires across South Australia each year that cause destruction and heartache. 

CFS Executive Director of Operations Brett Loughlin said the early warning provided by smoke alarms can easily change the outcome of a house fire. 

“Working smoke alarms save lives. They allow you time to evacuate your home safely and call Triple Zero. 

“This not only saves lives, it also provides firefighters an opportunity to respond earlier and minimise damage to your property.” 

“For the small cost of new batteries, you’re investing in your family’s safety and protecting your home”, Mr Loughlin says. 

Thorough tips, information and advice about smoke alarms is available on the MFS website.