Next week we mark Fire Prevention Week at the national and local level, as our fire departments seek to raise awareness about the need for fire safety.

Fire Prevention Week serves a two-fold purpose: to promote fire safety, this year with the theme of using candles safely; and secondly, to give tribute to our fire fighters who serve the community.

In regard to the first purpose, there is a particular emphasis on public education at all age levels on the importance of fire safety.

This is a truly valuable exercise, as each of us tend to get complacent, and it is so easy to take for granted that we are being safe in our daily lives at home, school or business. Major fires still take place every year, sometimes in a home and sometimes in a larger building.

These point out the need for public education to continue as it always has, so the information is brought to our minds on a regular basis. It is inevitable that fires will occur, but we can greatly cut down on the instances of fires by taking care with our candles to keep them away from flammable objects, in our kitchens by watching things that are being heated, and in our homes by making sure electrical sockets aren't overloaded, and that smoke detectors are in good working order.

And because fires are sometimes inevitable, it is to our communities' great advantage that we have individuals committed to volunteering to help protect lives and property through their service to the fire department.

In the October 1 edition of the Booster, we featured each member of the Weyburn Fire Department and why they are a member. Over and over, the theme came out that they feel the importance of serving and giving back to the community.

Unlike a volunteer effort for a service organization or club, however, this kind of volunteerism is in a class all its own, as the members are literally putting their lives on the line for us.

This was poignantly underscored a few years ago with the tragedy of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, where many fire fighters paid the ultimate price.

Even here in Weyburn, and in many of the communities in the surrounding area, there are not only paid members on the city department, but the vast majority of the membership (particularly so in smaller departments) are made up of volunteers. They go for training each week, they take courses to upgrade and improve their skills, they go on practical burns so they can see how fires act in actual building situations - and then they respond when emergencies occur, whether it's a motor vehicle accident where gas tanks have ruptured and pose a threat on the site, or to a structure fire where the occupants may or may not have gotten out in time, and neighbouring buildings need protection from the heat and flames.

It is no small task to volunteer for a fire department, and these individuals need to be honoured and thanked for the job they do in protecting our community. - G.N.