Like it or not, daylight savings time is upon us. When adjusting your clocks it is always a good time to place fresh batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. If you don't have alarms, now is a great time to install them. Remember to read the manufacturer's instructions carefully for placement within the home and recommended number of alarms (Not all municipalities have the same regulations - in terms of code compliance.)

   A good rule of thumb for smoke alarms is: One on each level of the home; One in each bedroom; One in the common hallway of sleeping areas.

   I sometimes get comments similar to this when recommending fresh batteries, "But you told me my smoke alarms are hard wired." Yes, but there is a battery back-up inside the alarms in the event of a power outage.

   I am a big proponent of hard wired smoke alarms. If installed properly, these devices should be "daisy chained," meaning all alarms are interconnected. If one alarm senses smoke and sounds off, then all alarms in the house will sound off.

   The extra time and money spent to install hard wired alarms is worth the cost in terms of safety and lives saved. CLICK HERE to view a reference from the Consumer Product Safety Commision on fire safety. Hope this small article is helpful.

Keith Braun, Property Consultant . Signature Property Inspection, Buffalo, N.Y. www.brauninspection.com