As Mississippians prepare to change their clocks this weekend with daylight saving time coming to an end and winter trying to set in, officials are reminding people that the time change is a chance to ensure smoke alarms inside homes and businesses are working properly.

Reed Abraham, the state fire coordinator, said Mississippi is battling a troubling trend when it comes to fire deaths, in part, caused by inoperable smoke alarms or an absence of smoke alarms.

“So far in 2025, we’re looking at about 59 fire fatalities,” Abraham said. “We talk about technology and what we know, here’s one thing we still have to do better on: In half of those fatalities, there was no working smoke alarm.”

Winter months, specifically December and January being a peak, bring an even higher rate of house and

See Full Page