It’s strange that some people will put a lock on their doors to keep the bad guys from taking their stuff and maybe in the process kill them. But yet, so many won’t purchase a smoke alarm (or get one for free) even though the absence of these devices have sometimes cost the entire house and all it contained, as well as human life.

Some people would call this an anomally — a curious quirk of nature. It just doesn’t make sense.

Over and over people have given testimony that they were awakened by their smoke alarm and were able to escape an inferno — blazes that sometimes devoured their homes.

Many times our fire officials have advised us to take this simple precaution. A smoke alarm is a simple device, is easy to install and is dirt cheap.

Just recently, our firemen were canvassing neighborhoods checking smoke alarms. Some people just can’t remember to check them or to change the batteries. They can remember what time their favorite television program comes on (whether it has any socially redeeming value or not) but not something that could save them and their family from a horrible death.

Our applause for the firemen checking these things out. That’s a great service.

In a recent news story, firemen responded to a blaze where there was no smoke alarm in the house. They extinguished the fire, greatly limiting the damage. And before they left, they installed a smoke alarm for free.

Perhaps this thing about smoke alarms is some kind of blind spot. Some people just can’t see the relationship between that little piece of technology and their survival.

Maybe it should be a law that every household in which minors live should be equipped with these devices. Would someone call this government intrusion and repulse at the thought? Or would the idea be embraced as sort of an enforced common sense?

If you know someone who doesn’t have a smoke alarm and you are wondering what to give them for Christmas, this little device is very practical and could be the best gift they ever received. Just ask a couple of people who have been awakened during the night to that shrill sound and subsequently were able to get their spouse and children out of the flames.