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Daylight Saving, Life-Saving

Placement and Replacement Should be Operative Words

Bloomington, Ill.  (Oct. 28, 2009) – State Farm® recommends changing smoke alarm batteries when setting clocks back Nov. 1. But have you considered the importance of the placement and age of your smoke alarms?

Experts recommend changing your smoke alarms every eight-to-10 years for maximum effectiveness. They should also be placed no less than four inches or no more than 12 inches from where the ceiling meets the wall.

Eddie Bain, program director at the Illinois Fire Institute, says placement is important because the earlier your alarm can detect the presence of smoke, the earlier it can do its job.

“Many people think, if I smell a fire, I’ll wake up,” Bain says. “But, actually, physiologically, your sense of smell shuts down and your sense of hearing is actually the most active sense. So the alarm on a smoke detector is vital – its job is to wake you up.”
 
Smoke alarms have been around for more than 30 years and are in most homes, but many people do not use them correctly. To get the most out of your smoke alarms, here are some things to keep in mind.

Top Five Smoke Alarm Tips

1. Most smoke alarms should be replaced every eight to 10 years.
   
   
2. Install them no less than four inches or more than 12 inches from where the ceiling meets the wall.
   
   
3. Do not install smoke alarms near kitchens or fireplaces or any place where smoke could trigger false alarms.
   
   
4. If your house is involved in a fire, replace the smoke alarms. Smoke in that fire could have rendered its sensors useless.
   
   
5. Do not test smoke alarms by using smoke. Press the test button and it should beep or ring loudly.
   

Social media, including more smoke alarm tips, photos, and a short video, are available at http://twitter.com/statefarmins, http://www.flickr.com/photos/statefarm, and http://www.youtube.com/user/statefarm, respectively.

For more information about smoke alarms, testing them, and other ways to protect yourself and your family and home against fire, visit the NFPA Web site.

For more information about smoke alarms and ways to protect yourself and your family and home against fire, go to:http://www.statefarm.com/about/csr/safe_neighbors/home_safety.asp

Contact:

Kip Diggs, State Farm, at 309-766-6781

About State Farm®:

State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,700 agents and 68,600 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 78.7 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 31 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.