Daylight Saving Time Begins March 13

Don't forget to set your clocks forward one hour this weekend. Daylight saving time officially begins at 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

Daylight Saving time is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms according to the United States Fire Administration. The Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services is also asking citizens to observe the "Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery" national fire safety campaign.

According to GCFES public information officer Capt. Tommy Rutledge,  a working smoke detector could mean the difference between life and death.  Smoke detectors are designed to alert occupants to the presence of smoke from a fire and provide added time for escape.  

The fire department recommends smoke detectors be placed on every level of the home, in the hallway outside the sleeping area and in each of the bedrooms. 

Yesterday, March 11, three people narrowly escaped an early morning house fire on Park Place Drive in Lawrenceville. According to a GCFES press release, the adults credited the smoke detector with alerting them to the fire.  The adults were treated for minor smoke inhalation.

Some smoke detectors are hard wired into the electrical system, others are battery operated or a combination of the two. Changing the battery twice a year insures the alarm will work even in the event of a power failure.

"The noise of the smoke detector may be your first line of defense against a deadly fire," Rutledge said.  The fire department also encourages residents to develop a home fire escape plan and practice fire drills.

Contact the Gwinnett Fire Community Risk Reduction-Education Section at 678-518-4850 for additional home fire safety information or e-mail fireprograms@gwinnettcounty.com.

Until 2005, daylight saving time began on the first Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October. With the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, daylight saving time was extended by a total of four weeks.  The start date was moved to the second Sunday in March and the end date was shifted to the first Sunday in November.