The change of the seasons is always a good time to take stock in your car, finances, and house! For today, let’s take a look at a few home items you can easily get through on a nice fall weekend.

Check Fire Extinguishers

These often go overlooked, but are either easy to confirm are still in working order or easy to replace. Make sure everyone in your home knows where they are located.

Check your smoke detectors

Don’t wait until you hear that super annoying beep! Change the batteries on your smoke detectors or check them to make sure they are still in working order.

Have a fire escape plan and fire ladders on second and third stories

A little bit of planning can go a long way, especially in an emergency situation.

Turn Off your Outdoor Water Faucets

There’s no reason to keep your outdoor faucets on during the winter months.

Make sure your Security Lights are working

Another easy enough test; make sure your security lights are working by testing them out at night!

There obviously may be some other items in your home that aren’t on this list, so take a look around and be sure to use fall to your advantage.

Firefighters, EMS, and other first responders are some of the most respected and brave members of our society. They work any and all hours of the day and night and put themselves in harm’s way to protect those in their community.

That’s why it was so special to us to see this recent article detailing how locksmiths in one local community came together at the behest of its first responders to help in a time of need.

     “Amid the fire trucks, police cruisers, and gas service vehicles, they pulled up Friday in two red vans. One labeled Patriots Lock, the other Brinks Lock.

    They are locksmiths, what they called a dying breed.

    As emergency responders went door to door Friday to make sure gas lines inside homes were shut off after the Thursday afternoon explosions that rocked the area, locksmiths’ services were in high demand.

    “It’s the safety of the community,” he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

    Ed Fenby, deputy fire chief in Quincy, said gas company representatives got into most of the houses Thursday night, but they were double checking on Friday for safety reasons. He estimated that they will have to check 8,000 homes.

“”Wer’e still going to have to make sure there is no gas, safety is the key,” he said. “The gas company is looking at all the meters.”

    After the number of fires and explosions that rocked the area, he said, “they want to preclude that from happening again.”
In only a matter of hours, Colonna and his brother David MacEachern, who owns Patriots Lock, had picked dozens of locks to empty homes. And they expect they will have to pick countless more, as authorities work through a broad swath of houses to confirm that gas lines had been shut off.

    “This is nothing I’ve ever seen before; it’s chaos,” said MacEachern, who recalled picking locks in Lexington for a week in 2005 after a gas explosion at one structure.” SOURCE: BostonGlobe.com

Here’s to first responders and also to those who understand the value of community. We’re proud of you!