Yeah, yeah, yeah. You've heard it all before. We hear it every year about this time. 

It's Fire Prevention Week. It is time to turn back the clocks and put new batteries in the smoke alarms, as well as in your flashlights, then keep one close to your bed. As if we didn't have enough to do or think about this time of year. 

The change back to regular time from daylight savings time has become a useful signal to check our smoke alarms and fire extinguishers to be sure they are all in good condition and working. It doesn't take much time, but sometimes we let it slide another day, and it is forgotten. 

Insurance companies incorporate rules and regulations into your policy that might add to your safety, but also give them an out if you neglect them. One thing adjusters ask is, “Were your smoke alarms in place and working?”

There is always a danger of fire, but there seems to be a special emphasis in the fall, possibly because things get dry. Nobody wants to hear that siren sound. Hopefully it’s not a home, because if it is, it may mean not just material losses that can be replaced, but lives!

My family has been there, seen that, and, thank goodness, survived – but the memory stays. Seeing my parents with the hair on their heads singed so bad it looked like brown wool stocking caps doesn't go away. And they were two healthy adults, only feet away from a large escape opening, and on ground level. I remember crying as we buried the family dog, but still grateful that at least it was a pet and not a person.

My dad had a tendency to get a little fanatic about fires. I know it made others chuckle about the number of huge patio and French doors he put in their house. To him it was no laughing matter. They were escape routes, as many and as close as possible.

When I lost my leg some 30 years ago, before my dad even said, "How are you," he was already planning what he could do to prevent me from being stranded in our bedroom. First he was going home to spread straw and tarps on the ground (it was December) so it would not freeze, which would prevent digging. He planned to add on a family room, with patio doors to the outside, and to put a pair of French doors in the wall right next to my bed that would open out into the family room. Then in the family room he would put patio doors to the outside, so if nothing else I could roll to safety if there were a fire. 

He didn't just say it – he did it. That is how we got our family room, but it also made me realize what a great dad I had. He was more concerned with what he didn’t want to happen than what already had.

There were probably simpler things he could have done, or he could have let it slide by – but dad had been there. He had experienced what could happen. He knew the darkness of smoke when you are almost unable to see. He knew how fast a fire can travel. He had felt the heat. He remembered how an almost empty house could explode with fire and consume everything in minutes.

In their case not everything was gone, because my mother, thank goodness, was awake and up reading a book in the middle of the night, and they got out.

Try it sometime: blind your eyes so you can't see; use your imagination and realize how hard it is to breathe. Think.

Try to feel your way to an exit. What if the exit is blocked? If you have a stairway, is it equipped so you can get down it safely? But what if that’s where the fire is? Do you have an alternative plan? 

Are there windows large enough that you can get out through them? If it’s a two-story house, is there someplace you can get out onto? Is your family well-schooled on what they should do in case of fire? Are there handicapped or elderly persons in the home? 

When my aunt and uncle lost their two-story home shortly after he had returned home from the hospital, he was miraculously able to swing his wife and small children onto a porch – one that was not directly under their upstairs window, but just close enough. 

I hope it never happens to you or anyone dear to you, but I feel it should be a concern. 

I will always have the greatest admiration for our local fire fighters, who not only take their time but risk their lives in caring for others. I have watched and listened to them as they talk to children. They teach them how important it is not to panic, and to stop, drop and roll, which helps put out fire in their clothing. To stay close to the floor, crawling if need be, to escape the toxic smoke. Also to feel the doorknobs on closed doors, to see if they are hot or not, which indicates if there is a fire on the other side of the door. They also teach them not to be afraid and hide, but better, to scream so someone can hear and find them. 

Firemen also teach children not to play with matches or other fire lighters that adults use, as well as to remind smokers that if they must smoke, smoke outside, and then put out all butts, and once out, discard them in a container, preferably airtight, so that birds can't pick them up and transport them somewhere else where even a spark can cause a fire.

Fire is fascinating, especially to young children, and fire pits are fun to gather around socially and roast wieners and marshmallows, but it is also important to know that the fire should definitely be put out when you are done, and ideally, once it is extinguished, have an air-tight cover. 

Fire is necessary and useful, but it demands respect, thought and solutions. Whether in the home, a business, or in a field, it can be deadly. It’s too late to take precautions when one hears the siren. 

Worry isn't the answer, concern and action is. We can't always prevent fires, but isn't it better to live trying than to die because we didn’t?

Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented they like to read about events such as family and school reunions, birthdays and anniversaries, and birth and wedding announcements. In order to read about these important things we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us. 

If you have birthdays and anniversaries you would like include, or news to share please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P. O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.

This week’s birthdays and anniversaries include:

• Thursday, Oct. 3: David Bunn, Lori Neidermeier, Dawn Enzenauer, Colette Holmes, Carrie Thompson, Wendy Thostenson Bogen, Paul Wayne, Lisa Zabel, Edna Thomas.

• Friday, Oct. 4: Susan Cornelius Wehr, Helen Jagusch Mantahei, Skyler Hanson, Clair Clausen, Michelle Lageson, Jerome Simon, Dale Waage, Jeff Waage, Lori Zabel, Matt Redmon, John & Cynthia Nelson, Krista & Randy Baana.

• Saturday, Oct. 5: Kijah Joy Mikesell, Bethany Otto Mikesell, Graciela Solveig Ortiz, Larry Pence, Karen Wiersma, Julie Cornelius, Jamie Farr, Elizabeth Randall, Peggy Sorenson, Linda Harding, Karen Kasper, Ray & Bunny Jepson, Jim & Pat Lyle, Wayne & Jo Schimek, Mandi & Darren Johannsen, Doug & Deb Braaten.

• Sunday, Oct. 6: Evan Matthew Beckman, Mesa Jo Grace Krause, Jackson Wyatt Lageson, Mark Plunkett, Marlin Beckman, Kaira Glienke, Melissa Horan, Aurie Brighton, Caden Reichl, Gail Turvold, Julie Born Beenken, Scott Holmes, Tait Misgen, Cindy Kasper Johnson, Jayme & Ryan Paulson.

• Monday, Oct. 7: Candace Lageson Baker, Carolyn Weller, Jason Huber, Todd Wayne, Debbie David, Garrett Briggs, Jill Bergdale, Kris Strenge, John & Ellen Hanson, Denise & Jerry Abbott, Jamie & Brian Riley, Pat & Barb O'Conner.

• Tuesday, Oct. 8: Mandy Moon, Lauren Olivia Sommers, Haley Hanson, Barb Hagen, Barb Dobberstein, Barb Strenge, Mary Kay Spurr, Brad Anderson, Doug Anderson, Hazel Spiering, Daniel Paulson, Kay Nelson, Julie & Brian Dahl.

• Wednesday, Oct. 9: Matt Kubiatowicz, Joshua Kasper, Cheryl Paulsen Wilson, Randy Mucha, Nancy Jo Anderson, Ashley Hove, Keith Neidermeier, Dennis Blouin.

May all of your favorite things be within reach. Have a wonderful day!