As part of Fire Prevention Week, Pella Fire Chief Doug Van Gorkom reminds all residents to check their home’s detectors, and to make sure they are working at times they are needed the most.

“A lot of times, people will test their detectors at six in the evening when they are all there for supper and they can talk to the kids about this is what they sound like,” he says. “I really challenge the parents at 11, 12 o’clock at night to go set that smoke detector off, to see if children are really getting out of bed. If they’re not, that detector is not going to do them any good at that time of the day.”

Van Gorkom says to not only check batteries this time of the year, but to look at the age of the units to ensure they are up-to-date.

“Another thing that people aren’t aware of, is that those units have about a ten-year life,” he says. “Once their past ten years, their ability to find out what’s going on is very minimal, so it’s something they need to be aware of. They can take that detector down and see when it was manufactured, and if it’s older than ten years, they really should be purchasing new ones.”

The Pella Fire Department will be heading to Madison Elementary Wednesday and Lincoln Elementary Friday to show off their fire trucks and discuss the importance of an exit plan during a fire.

President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the first National Fire Prevention Week on October 4-10, 1925, beginning a tradition of the President of the United States signing a proclamation recognizing the occasion. It is observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls, in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire, which began October 8, 1871, and did most of its damage on that date.

The horrific conflagration killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres.