Fire officials are reminding residents to use the start of daylight saving time to check and replace the batteries in their smoke detectors after a house fire in Libertyville and an apartment fire in Antioch.
The Libertyville Fire Department responded around 11:30 p.m. Saturday to the 300 block of West Austin Avenue in Libertyville for a report of smoke inside the house.
Libertyville Assistant Fire Chief William Bending said one of the residents came home to find smoke coming from the basement area while the residents’ parents were upstairs.
Firefighters investigated and found a fire inside the laundry room.
Crews deployed a hose line and quickly extinguished the fire. No one was injured.
Bending said the house did not have working smoke detectors at the time.
Fire officials routinely remind residents to check and change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors at least twice a year when clocks “spring forward” and “fall back.”
Clocks recently moved ahead one hour with the start of daylight saving time on Sunday.
“The Libertyville Fire Department reminds residents to have working carbon monoxide and smoke detectors on every floor and change or check the batteries regularly, at least twice a year,” Bending said.
Bending also recommended that residents consider newer smoke detectors that come with 10-year batteries, which are maintenance-free for the life of the detector.
On Monday at around 6:10 p.m., the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Antioch Fire Department responded to the 25200 block of Route 173 in unincorporated Antioch for a report of a structure fire.
Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from the first and second floors of the two-story apartment building.
Firefighters quickly attacked the fire, set up a water supply and searched the apartment units, Antioch Battalion Fire Chief Tim Taylor said.
Crews spent around an hour extinguishing the fire and conducting overhaul operations for hidden fire.
“The fire was contained in a single apartment, which is uninhabitable,” Taylor said. No one was injured.
“When the clocks spring forward to Daylight Saving Time, it’s also the perfect reminder to check something even more important than the time – your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors,” the Antioch Fire Department said.
Fire officials said that in addition to replacing carbon monoxide and smoke detector batteries, residents should also test them, ensure they are less than 10 years old and check that every sleeping area and floor of their home has detectors.
“Think of it this way: losing an hour of sleep is annoying… but losing a working smoke alarm could cost much more,” the fire department said.
“Working smoke and CO detectors provide the early warning your family needs in an emergency. A quick test today can make a life-saving difference tonight.”
Zion Battalion Fire Chief Rocco Campanella also reminded residents to check their smoke detectors after firefighters responded to a house fire in the 4100 block of Sarah Drive in Zion around 12:40 p.m. Monday.
A fire outside behind the house began spreading to the rear siding, but firefighters quickly extinguished it and prevented significant damage to the house.
No one was injured in that fire as well, and the house remains habitable.
Campanella said residents should make it a habit to check their smoke detectors every month.