FDNY Reminds New Yorkers To Change Their Batteries In Smoke And Carbon Monoxide Alarms When Changing Their Clocks This Weekend

March 11, 2016

FDNY reminds all New Yorkers to change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms when they change their clocks for the end of Daylight Saving Time. New Yorkers will have the opportunity to meet with the FDNY Fire Safety Education Unit and to learn life-saving lessons in fire safety.

“In 2015, more than 80 percent of fire deaths occurred in private homes or apartments where there was no working smoke alarm present,” said FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro.  “No one device can save your life from a fire like a working smoke alarm – it gives you the critical early notification you need to escape,”

As part of this semi-annual outreach effort, members of the FDNY Fire Safety Education Team are distributing 20,000 batteries, along with fire safety literature in multiple languages, at 20 transportation hubs and shopping centers throughout the five boroughs.  The batteries were generously donated to the FDNY Foundation by Duracell.

In November 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio joined with the Department to launch #GetAlarmedNYC – an FDNY spearheaded two-year smoke alarm giveaway and installation program in partnership with the City Council, the American Red Cross, the FDNY Foundation and device manufacturer Kidde. GetAlarmedNYC is the largest smoke detector giveaway and installation program in the nation, with a goal of distributing and installing 100,000 combination smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms free to New Yorkers in at risk communities over the next two years. New York City residents can learn more about the program by calling 311 or by attending an FDNY and Red Cross community event in their neighborhood.

Below, please find the locations and times for upcoming FDNY Fire Safety Education events – where they will be distributing educational materials as well as smoke alarms and batteries.

Friday, March 11, 2016: All events will be held 4-6 p.m.

Bronx

149th Street- Grand Concourse Station

Brooklyn

Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Terminal at Stillwell Avenue & Mermaid Avenue
Broadway Junction Complex at Jamaica Avenue & Fulton Street
Crown Heights-Utica Avenue Station at Utica Avenue & Eastern Parkway

Manhattan

West 168th Street & Broadway Station
West 125th Street & Broadway Station
Union Square Station at 14th Street & Broadway

Queens

61st Street-Woodside Station at 61st Street & Roosevelt Avenue
Jamaica Centre-Parsons/Archer Station

Staten Island

St. George Staten Island Ferry Terminal at 1 Bay Street

Saturday, March 12, 2016: All events will be held 12-4 p.m.

Bronx

Kmart at 1998 Bruckner Boulevard 
Target at 40 West 225th Street

Brooklyn

Target at 139 Flatbush Avenue

Manhattan

Target at 517 East 117th Street

Queens

Target at 40-24 College Point Boulevard
Queens Center Mall at JC Penney Wing Level I 90-15 Queens Boulevard

Staten Island

Target at 2900 Veterans Road West                           

CONTACT:

FRANCIS X. GRIBBON & ELISHEVA ZAKHEIM (718)999-2056