It’s time to fall back- so we turn the clock back one hour late Saturday night or early Sunday morning this weekend; and it’s also time to make some annual safety checks as we prepare for the longer and colder nights ahead. Nevada City Division Fire Chief Sam Goodspeed, says the fire department traditionally uses the time change to also change batteries and make the fireplace safer.

Goodspeed says that checking a smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector is relatively easy.

Common residential smoke alarms are designed to sense smoke before heat.

The second type of alarm, heat detector alarms, are typically found in commercial structures more so than residential buildings.
The chief also says an evacuation plan is a must for all households.
He says that families should already have an escape route planned both to get out of the house, but also how to get away from the house. Local fire agencies, working with the County Office of Emergency Services, created the Ready Set GO Program to prepare for wildfires, but the same evacuation routine should be used if a structure fire occurs.