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Nothing is more awkward than arriving at events an hour late, but that often happens with the end of Daylight Savings Time every spring.

It’s ending this Sunday at 2 a.m., so make sure to spring forward your clocks an hour ahead Saturday night and while you’re at it, change your smoke detector batteries.

Fire industry officials also say when daylight saving time ends, it’s a good time to change or check batteries in a smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector.

Many of the smoke detectors installed recently are 10-year batteries, so they should be tested. Carbon monoxide detectors should also be tested because the odorless substance is untraceable by smell.

More than 400 people in the U.S. die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than 20,000 visit the emergency room, and more than 4,000 others are hospitalized.

Working smoke detectors are one of the most important components of fire safety. Now would also be a good time to install smoke detectors if there aren’t many in your homes.

Having a smoke detector could mean the difference in life or death. It gives you the warning and lifesaving seconds to get out of your home in the event of a fire.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration’s website, smoke alarms should be placed in and out of each bedroom and sleeping area.

They should also be interconnected.

For smoke alarms hardwired into your home’s electrical system, replace the backup battery at least once every year and the entire alarm every ten years, according to the website.

Smoke detectors are meant to save lives, not endanger them.

We hope everyone spends a few minutes this weekend checking or installing their smoke alarms.