Daylight Saving Time, Spring Ahead

Daylight Saving Time, or DST, is the time of the year when clocks are moved ahead one hour to create longer days during the warmest months of the year. Moving to DST from Standard Time (ST) effectively moves one hour of daylight from morning to night.

 The practice started in the United States in 1918, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST), the government’s official timekeeper. Not all of the United States partakes in the tinkering with time tradition, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does observe DST) don’t not move clocks ahead.

 It is the U. S. Department of Transportation that regulates time zones, but NIST sets rules for time keeping. What are those rules? Well, in 2007, the rules for daylight saving time changed for the first time in 20 years, increasing the number of days to 238 in an attempt to reduce electricity used for lighting. Officially, daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2 a.m. in the first Sunday of November.

Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office suggests people use the time change as a time to check the batteries in smoke detector alarms, and planning for a fire emergency.

“Take time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms, testing your smoke alarms, planning two ways out and practicing escape routes with the entire family.  Being prepared and knowing what to do if fire happens to occur can save your life and the lives of your loved ones,” stated State Fire Marshal Charles M. Duffy.

Smoke alarms most often fail because of missing, dead or disconnected batteries so maintenance is a simple, effective way to protect your family and reduce home fire deaths.  In fact, working smoke alarms nearly cut in half the risk of dying in a home fire.  Warnings from smoke alarms can provide those critical extra seconds people need to get out of their homes safely.

In 2010 in Washington State, approximately 62 percent of fire deaths occurred in homes without working smoke alarms and the peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when most families are sleeping.  Ensuring smoke alarms are operational is critical to life safety.  Smoke alarms are designed to detect the presence of smoke and alert occupants to danger. 

For more information about fire safety, please visit the State Fire Marshal website at www.wsp.wa.gov/fire/firemars.htm.