Safety Nut’ Sounds Smoke-Detector Warning

It was Good Friday, late in the evening. I was sitting in the family room of my childhood home, talking wity my sister, Sheila.
She was trying to coax her little one, Ned, into bed but he wasn’t interested. He had more important business: ripping, tossing, and stuffing newspapers which had been piled on the coffee table.
Just when we thought we were the only ones awake, we were startled by a loud, wailing noise.
“Isn’t that the smoke alarm?” I asked Sheila.
“It sounds like it,” she answered.
The alarm stopped as abruptly as it started. I decided to pinpoint the reason. Just then, my Dad walked into the room. He was wearing his pajamas and carrying a pole.
“Did I scare you?” he asked, smiling sheepishly.
“Was that the smoke detector?” I asked.
“Yes, I was testing it to make sure the batteries were good.” (That was the purpose of the pole. He used it to reach the testing button.)
He had intended to test the alarms before his family had arrived for the Easter weekend.
I was just about to go to bed when I remembered and decided I had better do it now. Otherwise, I’d wake up at 2 a.m. and wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep until I tested the batteries.
My father and I think alike. Last summer, before my husband and I took our older kids to Europe, I tested the smoke alarms at our house.
We installed new batteries and tested each smoke detector to make sure the batteries weren’t duds.

Two detectors lack testing buttons, so we had to improvise by lighting a candle and blowing it out so that the smoke would waft toward the sensor.
When the alarm sounded, I hastily fanned the smoke with a folded newspaper.
We took these steps because I didn’t want to become panicked on our trip if it occurred to me that more than half of my children were thousands of miles away, asleep in a house equipped with non-functional smoke detectors.
My main floor detector used to go off every time I used the broiler. Each time, I considered it a good signal for me to blow off steam.
I recently retested all the smoke detectors in our home, with Maureen’s help. She thought it was fun. I thought it was noisy.
When I was young – before smoke detectors were invented – my dad conducted fire drills. My older sister and I were supposed to get the littler girls and climb out a window onto the porch roof.
Smoke detectors are my thing. A while ago, Grandma Cavanaugh invited the grandchildren to her house for a slumber party. (Grandma loves to entertain the kids by making leprechauns dance on the walls and cooking pancakes.)
As I drove the children to Grandma’s house, I thought, “This is quite a crowd for Grandma but they should get along fine if everyone is in good spirits and the big kids help with the little kids.”
I decided to stop en route and buy a new battery and tested the alarm with a lighted candle.
My mother-in-law thanked me. The kids called me a “safety nut.”
The next day, I read a heartbreaking newspaper story about a fire which could have been avoided if the house had had a smoke detector in working order.
Ordinarily, I don’t use this space as a soap box. But smoke detectors save lives. I think every residence – including college dorm rooms and apartments – should be equipped with working smoke detectors.
If you have a smoke detector, test the battery. If the battery is dead, replace it immediately.
If you don’t have a smoke detector, buy one. They are inexpensive. I’ll sleep a lot better if I know you are safe.