PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release November 1, 2018

Contact:
Frank Mascia – (212) 788-6989
fmascia@council.nyc.gov
Peter Spencer – (212) 788-7161
pspencer@council.nyc.gov

CHANGE YOUR CLOCKS, CHANGE YOUR BATTERIES – FOR FREE!
Borelli and Matteo are distributing free 9V batteries for Staten Islanders to help ensure smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly and keep families safe from fires

Staten Island, NY –City Council Member Joe Borelli, Chair of the Committee on Fire and Emergency Services, and Minority Leader Steven Matteo are distributing free batteries to Staten Island residents to use in home smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, to help ensure these early warning devices are working properly. Fire safety experts encourage people to change the batteries in these early warning devices at the same time we change our clocks for Daylight Savings Time – which will end this Sunday, November, 4th.

Borelli said, “This is a great opportunity for Staten Islanders to take some of the pain out of checking and replacing the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and I encourage all of my neighbors on the south shore to make a quick stop into my office and pick up a free 9V battery. I’d like to thank the FDNY and Duracell for partnering with us on this to ensure that every home is protected.”

“Most home fire deaths can be avoided as long as there are properly installed, working smoke alarms. And that usually means simply replacing a battery twice a year,” said Minority Leader Matteo. “So I strongly encourage Staten Islanders, before they change their clocks for Daylight Savings, to also think about saving the lives of their family members and saving a little money by coming to our district offices and picking up a free battery for their smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detectors. “

According to statistics, working smoke detectors reduce the risk of death in a home fire by almost 60 percent. That is even more important as we head into the winter months, when the risk of structural fires increases due the use of heating equipment and holiday decorations.

Besides checking the batteries at least twice a year, Borelli and Matteo remind residents to also check the manufacturing dates on these devices, which are usually printed on the back of the devices or near the battery compartments, and to replace ones that have expired. The lifespan of a smoke detector is about 10 years, while carbon monoxide detectors last between five to seven years.

The free 9 Volt batteries, which have been donated by Duracell, will be available for any resident to pick up at the Council Members’ respective district offices (listed below) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. There are 200 batteries in each Council office.

Council Member Joseph Borelli
2955 Veterans Road West
Suite 2E
Phone: (718) 984-5151

Councilman Steven Matteo
900 South Avenue
Suite 403
Phone: (718) 980-1017
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