ROCHESTER, Minn. – Fire agencies throughout the area are reminding people to not just change their clocks, but to change their smoke alarm batteries too.

The Minnesota State Fire Marshal said even hardwired smoke alarms need to be checked since they often have back up battery packs.
But it might not be enough to change batteries, depending on how old a smoke alarm is, the entire alarm may need to be replaced too.

The National Fire Prevention Association finds 9 out of 10 Americans don’t know when to change their smoke alarms which is alarming since it also says working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a fire in half.

One community member says why he thinks people don’t monitor their smoke alarms closely.

“You need to know somebody who's had a house fire, and then you're more aware of it,” Trace Tomford of Rochester said.

Clear Lake Fire Department reiterates via Twitter that smoke alarms need to be replaced entirely every 10 years.