Across Maine this week, firefighters were in classrooms teaching lessons on safety and common sense.

Fire departments in Auburn and Lewiston are holding open houses today to talk about fire prevention and safety, too, as we near the end of Fire Prevention Week.

It’s an important and timely topic as we prepare for the heating season and the darkness of winter. And the message to keep lighters from children, to be careful with candles and to make sure wood stove ashes are properly disposed of cannot be repeated often enough.

The National Fire Protection Association says 85 percent of all fire-related deaths occur at home. An estimated 350,000 to 400,000 house fires occur in this country every year, each of which could bring death to a loved one.

And, while cooking is the leading cause of house fires overall, during the winter months the leading cause of fires is home heating devices. Among those fires, many occur while people are fast asleep and unaware they’re in danger, which is why having a working smoke detector in the house is critically important.

In Wilton, firefighters told the Sun Journal that — in the past year — they have responded to a number of houses that did not have smoke detectors or the detectors hadn’t had batteries installed. There are plenty of other firefighters who could say the same thing.

Detectors are, without doubt, the surest and safest way to alert people to fire. It doesn’t make sense for any family to go to sleep without a smoke detector protecting them.

A house without a working detector is an invitation to tragedy.

Firefighters recommend that Americans use either the start or stop of daylight saving time to check detectors and to replace batteries, as needed.

Daylight saving time ends Sunday, Nov. 6. So, get those batteries ready. And be safe.

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Since 2002, Lewiston’s Hope Haven Gospel Mission has served 219,535 meals to the hungry, including free community meals offered on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It has safely sheltered 3,217 people, including dozens of families, at its Lincoln Street location.

Hope Haven Gospel Mission is an agency true to its mission to shelter, feed and minister to the city’s sick and homeless, tasks that are needed now more than ever.

It has been the loyal and faithful work of the Rev. Paul McLaughlin to raise funds, supervise staff and organize volunteers to feed and shelter Maine’s truly needy for the past 21 years.

McLaughlin will leave the mission at the end of this month. He is moving to Florida to counsel a congregation in Bradenton.

We thank him for his years of service, wish him well in his new venture and welcome assistant pastor John Robbins to the mission’s leadership role as he continues McLaughlin’s vision in faith.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.