It’s that time, Daylight Saving Time. 

“Spring ahead,” goes the well-known catchphrase reminding folks it’s time to set clocks an hour ahead at 2 a.m. Sunday — ticking off sleepy souls with that famously “lost” hour every year.

The start of Daylight Saving Time is not only a moment to set clocks ahead, but an occasion to make important safety checks, according to Westport fire officials.

“When you change your clock for Daylight Saving Time, check your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms,” Westport Deputy Fire Chief Nicholas L. Marsan writes in a public-service statement.

The battery-changing reminder is more than a slogan, Marsan says, and Westport firefighters often see its reality — “smoke alarms save lives.”

Alarms that function properly alert people more quickly in the event of a fire, “and provide you and your loved ones more time to escape safely,” he says.

Statistics back it up, according to the deputy chief. Nearly two-thirds of all home fire deaths occur when there are no working smoke detectors, which could be reduced by checking an alarm’s reliability and changing batteries every six months.

And hard-wired detectors, which do not need batteries, still need to be checked regularly since many people don’t realize that those devices need to be replaced about every 10 years from the date of manufacture and not the date of installation, according to the National Fire Protection Agency.

It is also important to have the correct type of smoke alarm, according to Marsan.

Photoelectric smoke alarms are more effective at warning about smoldering fires, while ionization alarms are triggered more quickly by free-burning fires. 

Fire officials “recommend installing a combination photoelectric/ionization smoke alarm in every bedroom, outside of every bedroom and on each floor of your home,” Marsan writes.

“Likewise, carbon monoxide detectors should also be placed on every floor of your home, including the basement.”

And, as an extra step to ensure safety, Marsan urges people to plan — and rehearse — an evacuation route for their households in the event of a fire, including a predetermined meeting place once everyone is outside.