Smoke Alarm Saves Lives of Hammond Family

As daylight saving time approaches this weekend, a Hammond family is living proof of why it is so important to have working smoke alarms and to check them when you change your clocks.

On Saturday, March 1, 2025, smoke alarms saved the lives of 66-year-old Clifford Walker and his five-year-old godchild. Shortly after midnight, the newly installed smoke alarms awoke Walker. Walker and his godchild got out of the house and called firefighters before a smoldering attic fire got out of control.   

“We would much rather share stories like Clifford Walker’s that prove that working smoke alarms do save lives than to keep sharing all of the stories of lives lost in homes that had no smoke alarms,” said State Fire Marshal Chief Bryan J Adams. “Last year, we lost 73 Louisianans in residential fires. Only three of those had working smoke alarms. Every home should have working smoke alarms. Now is the perfect time to make sure those devices in your home are, in fact, working.”

Chief Adams is encouraging Louisianans to check the status of the life-saving devices in their homes, like smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms, when changing their clocks ahead one hour for daylight saving time this Sunday, March 9, at 2 a.m.

When checking the status of these devices to determine whether a new battery is needed, also take note of their age. If you know, or suspect, that your smoke or CO alarms are older than 10 years, we highly recommend upgrading to the 10-year, sealed battery alarms that don’t require any battery replacement through their lifetime. These newer alarms will, however, require something we suggest anyway—pressing the “test” button once a month to ensure the devices are in working order. Your family should practice a home escape plan at the same time which should include knowing two ways out of every room in your home and having an outdoor meeting place.

If you do not have a smoke alarm, and cannot afford one, our Operation Save-A-Life program can help. The program partners our agency with local fire departments to install smoke alarms for free for families that need them most. To learn more about the program and register for a smoke alarm, visit lasfm.org. You can also contact your local fire department to request a smoke alarm installation.