Whether it’s providing a band-aid for a scraped knee or equipping their cars with safety seats, parents are the first line of defense for their children at home. This month, as part of National Fire Prevention Awareness Month, Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) are asking Moms and Dads to take a vital step to keep their kids safe at home – Change Your Clock Change Your Battery.

From October 11 through November 4, visit the Energizer Bunny Facebook page and click on the Fire Safety Info Tab.  Here you will have the chance to enter a sweepstakes to win an additional Family Safety Kit.  Energizer will be giving away one Family Safety Kit per day for 25 days.  Contained in the kit, valued at more than $150 is:

• One reusable grocery tote
• Two Kidde Battery-Operated Combination Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Alarms
• One package of Energizer Advanced Lithium batteries
• One package of Energizer MAX Batteries with Power Seal Technology
• Two Energizer flashlights
• Two Energizer Flameless Wax Candles
• One Energizer Bunny Plush Bunny

In addition you can find fire safety tips, a home escape plan that you can download and draw your family’s home escape plan, as well as a coloring and activity sheet.

Cal Ripken participating in a neighborhood canvass with Chicago firefighters.

As families change their clocks, it’s a good time also for families to review their home fire safety plans, starting with changing the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.  Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs are asking families across the country to join them in this year’s Change Your Clock Change Your Battery campaign.

The message is simple, and the habit can be lifesaving. Thirty-eight percent of fatal fire injuries occur in homes without working smoke alarms, while 24 percent occur in homes in which at least one smoke alarm is present but fails to operate.

Firefighters work tirelessly to help reduce the risk factors by educating their residents on the importance of having a working smoke alarm. In many communities, fire departments are able to distribute free batteries to citizens in need as a result of the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery program.  The Change Your Clock Change Your Battery program just one of the ways Energizer brings to life the company commitment to making a positive impact in communities across the country.

Families are encouraged to  use the extra hour “gained” to remind their friends, family and neighbors of the life-saving habit of changing and testing smoke alarm batteries, and to help those who may need assistance.