By Rich Larson
As Minnesotans set their clocks back an hour when daylight saving time ends Sunday, Northfield Fire and Rescue Service Chief Tom Nelson is asking residents to do more than swap out the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
“They always say change the batteries,” he said, “but they don’t say look at the date.”
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are designed to last about 10 years, Nelson said. After that, they emit an end-of-life warning chirp, often in the middle of the night. He recommended replacing any alarm more than 10 years old and writing the installation date on the sticker most new units include. The city of Northfield’s rental code already requires that for apartment buildings, he said.
The Chief said crews responded to two calls last week in which residents heard a chirping alarm, assumed it came from their do-it-yourself home security system and triggered a call to the fire department. Firefighters instead found older plug-in carbon monoxide alarms tucked behind furniture that the homeowners didn’t know they had. He admonished everyone to take a look around their homes to search through their homes in places they don’t usually see and lean where their safety equipment is.
The change of season also brings calls about a burning smell the first time a furnace runs. Nelson said that is often dust burning off, but a clogged or collapsed filter can also cause it. He recommended changing the filter, scheduling an annual tune-up with an HVAC contractor to check for problems such as a cracked heat exchanger, and testing the furnace on a warm day so there is time to fix any problems.
“It’s not that expensive, and it’s really recommended,” he said. “Proactive versus reactive.”
Nelson also pointed to a recent call at a multistory senior independent living facility where someone heard a carbon monoxide alarm in the basement. Crews measured carbon monoxide in the basement and some common hallways, though not in individual units, and evacuated the building as a precaution while they located the source.
He said state law now requires multifamily buildings to have either carbon monoxide detection in each unit or detection near the source that connects to a notification system, rather than a single alarm in a boiler room that no one may hear. Nelson said he planned to tell the facility it is not in compliance.
Rich Larson is the owner and General manager of KYMN Radio. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
