As a member of the fire service for more than 35 years, I have seen all too many times the devastation fire can incur on people and their homes. Watching a household endure the loss of their most valued possessions is simply heartbreaking. But there’s no greater horror than to witness a family suffer the aftermath of one or more loved ones who have perished in a fire. In the past six weeks in Franklin alone, two people have died in fires and four firefighters have been injured. What’s most tragic about so many of these incidents, and I must admit sometimes frustrating, is that the fatal outcomes often could have been prevented with the presence of properly installed, working smoke alarms.