SALEM, Ohio (WKBN) – A house in Waco, Texas caught fire recently, and the family inside could not smell the smoke because they had COVID-19. Luckily, they are all still alive. But what can you do to prevent something like this?

One of the symptoms of COVID-19 is the loss of taste and smell, but if something catches fire, you’re not going to be able to smell the smoke. Having a working smoke detector would alert you to the fire.

“You should change your smoke detector battery every six months to be safe. A good time to do it is when you change your clocks,” said Aaron Loper, an inspector with the Salem Fire Department.

After the smoke detector reaches 10 years old, it should be replaced. The smoke detector will let you know if your battery is going dead.

“If the detector starts to chirp, that’s an indication of a low battery,” Loper said.

Whether you lose taste and smell or not, the smoke detector can be your best line of defense.

“There are a lot of times where the smoke detectors could have saved property damage. There are even times when smoke detectors could have saved a life,” Loper said.

Smoke detectors should be on every floor of your house, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.