We once rode with a local fire chief on a mission of mercy.

Chief Eddie Turner would place or replace smoke detectors in the homes of anyone who requested them.

Many were elderly widows who found it difficult to do the job themselves.

We don’t know how many lives he may have saved.

To save yours and your family’s lives, you need to replace the batteries in your home’s smoke detectors.

If they are at least 10 years old, it’s time to replace the detectors, too.

The beginning of Daylight Saving Time is a good reminder to replace batteries.

Please do it again this fall when we fall back an hour.

This is the perfect opportunity to make sure that your smoke detectors actually work before there is an emergency when they could be needed.

The Red Cross says smoke alarms cut in half the risk of dying in a house fire.