ATLANTA - With daylight savings time approaching, Georgia's Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner said it's once again a perfect time to check your smoke detector.
Ralph Hudgens said the numbers don't lie. Of 28 residential fire-related deaths in Georgia this year, there was no evidence of a working smoke alarm in 16 of the 20 homes.
"The four children that died out in Conyers, there was a smoke alarm there, but it didn't have a battery in it."
With the time change early Sunday morning, Hudgens said you should replaces batteries if your smoke alarm uses one. He also said to test your smoke detectors and make sure they're not covered in dust.
"Every year in Georgia there are fire fatalities in homes that didn t have smoke alarms, or where the alarms didn t function because of dead batteries. Having a working smoke alarm doubles the chances you will survive a fire in your home," Hudgens said.
The official start to daylight savings time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday. You'll set your clock ahead one hour.