The clocks will be set back this weekend as Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 am on Sunday. Time will go back to standard time by one hour, which will make the winter mornings a bit brighter and nightfall come a bit sooner. Pella Fire Chief Randy Bogaard says Daylight Saving Time is a great time to replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and to check their expiration dates to ensure they aren’t past the manufacturers’ recommended lifespan.

“Most of these detectors have a built-in life service in them. And that’s a piece that a lot of people don’t remember, that they don’t last forever, they lose their effectiveness. And so, when they’re at their end of service life, they give a series of chirps, sometimes people think that they’re going off when in fact they’re just trying to signal to you that they need to be replaced.”

Bogaard adds that residents should have a heightened awareness of the dangers of fire, especially with furnaces and heaters running more frequently as temperatures cool.