I posted the following message on my tool board and thought I should post it here as well. I don't get time to come on this board much anymore so if you have any questions or comments, please direct them to my email or post on my board. I will reply to all responces, just give me some time to do so. Have a great day! Mark KwOnce again, for some of us, it's time to change the clocks and that means also changing the batteries in your smoke, fire and or CO2 alarms. It's also the time to prepare for the winter heating season by having your heating system cleaned and checked. Don't forget about that fireplace you may only use one or two days as well. Birds and other animals and or bees like to plug up chimneys which causes your house to burn down. Not the way to spend Christmas or New Year's day toasting marsh mallows over what used to be your home. One note on your smoke and other alarms, these should be replaced at least every four years. Over time, they get dirty and dusty and may not work properly. Test the ones you have and if you know they are more than four years old, replace them. At an average price of 10 bucks each, it's a really cheap line of protection for yourself and family. If you have children or elderly people living in your home, go to your local fire department and get the "TOT FINDER" window stickers. These should be placed on every occupied bedroom window but are especially important on those windows of children, disabled and elderly. If you have anyone in your home with special needs such as a disabled or physically handicapped person, be sure to inform your local fire department and EMS services. Most 911 systems allow for address specific information to be presented to the dispatcher when your address comes up on the system. The dispatcher can then relay this info to the responding units if needed. If you have an alarm company service such as ADT, Brinks, Security Link or other, be sure they have the proper address and directions to your home or business. Being active in volunteer emergency service, I see first hand delays sometimes exceeding and hour because of wrong or not enough information being provided by the alarm company. Directions and land marks as well as a description of the building/dwelling are very important if you use a PO Box, rural route or HCI type mailing/billing address. Fire and EMS people don't deliver your mail so we don't know where you are from these types of mailing addresses. We need a street address and directions since some street addresses do not correspond to the exacting location of your home or business. In addition to contacting the alarm company, set up a test date and time with your local fire department but DO NOT inform the alarm company of such. Let the alarm come in as it would in an emergency then have the local fire chief check the information he/she gets from the alarm company with the known location and directions to your home or business. This will tell you if you're getting the service you pay for or you're being screwed. Oh, one more note... Please do NOT test your smoke/fire alarms or alarm system by lighting a fire in your home or business. Your local fire department should be able to supply you with or provide a testing service or kit that is SAFE to use. We almost lost a home here last year when the owner decided to light a small paper fire in a waste basket to test his smoke alarms. Luckily no one was hurt but him and his family had to live in a motel for about a month while the house was repaired from the fire and water damage.
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