One of the protective services that guard our community is a group that is often overlooked or taken for granted: the Fire Department.

Their services are invaluable, and the advice they give needs to be paid attention to. This week particularly, Fire Prevention Week, they are more visible in and around the community than most times of the year, but the members of the department - both the paid professionals and the volunteer firefighters - work and practice hard all year around.

This year the theme of Fire Prevention Week is to test your smoke alarms. It is all too easy to ignore such special themed weeks by thinking, "we've heard it all before."

But the reason the firefighters maintain their edge, week in and week out, is because fire can strike anywhere, anytime, and they have to be able to respond to save lives and property no matter the circumstance or time of day.

Likewise, we as citizens of the community can make their jobs so much easier if we are more vigilant and use our common sense when using flammable substances, or securing our homes and businesses.

Like other fire safety tips, testing one's smoke alarms is common sense; if the batteries or sensors aren't working properly, and the smoke and fire comes in the dark of night, you could lose everything you have, your family, your possessions, and indeed your own life.

Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of one's home, and should be tested once a month, with batteries replaced at least once a year. Some fire officials recommend doing the battery change on an important day or annual event so there is no chance of forgetting if it's been done.

In the meantime, we ought to pay tribute to the men and women who volunteer to protect our community, for they have a tough and demanding job. Besides fires in a home or other structure, they also get calls in the middle of the night to respond to vehicle accidents, particularly where fire is or may be a hazard, to grass fires and structure fires of all different types in the outlying rural areas, like combine fires, hay fires, barn fires.

When they're not keeping ready with regular practice sessions, they are available for public education, and indeed make the extra effort to be in the schools to educate our children about the dangers of fires. They bring the fire safe house so children know how to evacuate a burning building, and also show videos of various fire safety tips they can then pass on to their families.

It is important that citizens recognize the work and sacrifice these people make to protect us, and that they are laying their safety on the line everytime they go into an emergency situation.

Don't underestimate the damage a fire can cause - and it can happen with a suddenness and speed that can catch people completely off-guard, if they're not ready.

The bottom line is to be prepared. Each one of us can do our part to prevent fires from happening, and make for a safer community in which to live and work. - G.N.