It's an old reminder but one that is important nonetheless: Smoke detectors can help to save lives and minimize fire damage.

The experience of the Greg Seybert family of Center Township on Feb. 20 attests to that.

A smoke detector alerted the family of four to a fire that had started in the back of a fireplace at their home on Seminole Trail. That enabled firefighters to be called quickly, and the firefighters' quick response helped avert what could have been serious damage to the two-story house.

Every second is valuable in a fire emergency. In this case, even with the smoke detector's alert and the arrival of the first firefighters within 10 minutes, damage to the Seybert home still totaled about $10,000.

But that's a pittance when stacked up against the fact that all members of the family were able to flee the home safely and that the potential for much more serious damage was quickly extinguished — all, thanks to a device that costs just a few dollars and that requires only a dollar or two a year to maintain in working order.

"A quick response and a good fire alarm system saved that house," said Mark Lauer, chief of the Unionville Volunteer Fire Department. "It could have also saved lives. Who knows?"

Having operational smoke detectors isn't only necessary in cold-weather months when heating systems are in use. They provide year-round protection.

But for that protection to be in place, occupants of homes and apartments must routinely test their alarms and ensure that fresh batteries are in them. Ignoring that advice is a dangerous — potentially fatal — gamble.

Apartment building landlords also must not neglect the responsibility of ensuring that smoke detectors in their buildings are working properly.

Most people go through life without ever requiring the service of a smoke detector, but it nevertheless is one of the most important things for people to have in their homes.

As firefighters arrived at the Seybert home, they saw heavy smoke coming out of the upstairs above the garage. The firefighters attacked the flames through an attic in the garage and, as Lauer reported, "got it out pretty quickly and before it could spread much further."

The firefighters' task was made much easier by the fact that they first did not have to initiate rescue operations for trapped occupants. Thanks to their smoke detector, the Seybert couple and their children were already safe at a neighbor's house when the first fire vehicle pulled up to the scene.

Every time there is a news account of a fatal fire, it is logical to wonder what went wrong. Probably in most cases the answer revolves around someone's lax attitude in regard to smoke detectors.

To their credit, the Seyberts don't ascribe to such a flawed attitude.