The London fire department is hoping people change more than just their clocks when they spring forward this weekend.
Daylight Saving Time officially returns at 2am Sunday, pushing clocks ahead one hour. Fire officials are once again using the biannual time change to remind residents to replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Figures complied by the Ontario Fire Marshal show of the nearly 27,000 home fires between 2009-2013, 18% occurred in homes that did not have a working smoke alarm. In 36% of non-arson cases in which there was a fatality, there was no smoke alarm.
Fire officials say having working smoke alarms on every storey of a home is the law. Landlords are responsible for installing and maintaining alarms on rental properties. Anyone caught tampering with an alarm or removing its batteries could be fined $50,000.
Daylight Saving Time ends November 6.
