Daylight saving time ends this weekend, and the American Red Cross is encouraging everyone to test their smoke alarms as they turn their clocks back to make sure the devices are working.
Over the past year, Red Cross volunteers responded to help more than 11-hundred people in Iowa affected by more than 300 home fires, which account for most of the about 65-thousand disasters that the Red Cross responds to each year across the US.
Safety reminders include to install smoke alarms on every level of your home, replace smoke alarms that are 10 years or older, practice your two-minute home fire escape plan, and include at least two ways to get out of every room and select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home if a fire occurs.
For more information go to redcross.org/homefires.