Near the end of an April 2 front-page Mirror article about a fire that damaged an Altoona home, a paragraph noted “there has been a rash of fires in the city lately, including two fatal fires on successive days — March 18 and 19.”

For city residents old enough to remember the redevelopment decades of the 1960s and 1970s, the spate of recent blazes might have resurrected memories of the structure fires here that were not uncommon during those earlier years when the city began embracing an expanded character that was not deeply embedded in the railroad industry.

Blazes in the home environment — what occurred then and what occurs now — have many common causes, such as being of electrical origin due to deterioration of wiring or overloaded circuits, malfunctioning heating systems, improperly attended cooking, improper disposal of cigarettes and other tobacco products and myriad forms of general carelessness.

But back in the 1970s, there also was an attic fire in this city that was believed caused by an “arsonist pigeon.”

When the fire was being brought under control, a firefighter at the scene told a newspaper reporter it was believed that a pigeon had carried into the attic in question a cigarette that had been discarded without first having been extinguished, causing the blaze.

Fortunately, skillful work by the fire crew at the scene prevented the home from being destroyed — and prevented the flames from spreading to nearby structures.

The main point that should be derived from this editorial is that homeowners and owners of other kinds of property should not be lulled into complacency once cold temperatures give way to more spring-like conditions.

The attitude should be “we made it through this winter without fire-causing problems and it’s not too soon to ensure that fire safety reigns next fall and winter and during cold temperature seasons beyond. The way to do that is by protecting ourselves, starting now, before heating and electrical contractors might be prevented by other work from addressing our needs expeditiously.”

Being preventative now is a key to avoiding big problems later. And keep in mind that cool autumn temperatures often “knock on our doors” in this part of Pennsylvania before we’ve had much opportunity to soak up much summer-like heat.

By the way, avoid the temptation of delaying fire-safety attention until October, which is observed as Fire Prevention Month in this country.

Procrastination often paves the road to forgetfulness, and that can be seriously problematic.

Also, remember to purchase a new battery for each of your smoke detectors and rethink whether the number of detectors you have in your home is adequate.

Smoke detectors probably are the cheapest financial investment you’ll have to make on behalf of fire safety.

Of course, your local fire department will be spreading basic, but critical, information about fire safety during Fire Prevention Month and, specifically during Fire Prevention Week, which is observed from the Sunday to Saturday in October in which Oct. 9 falls.

The week in question, as well as the other days of October, have been synonymous with the topic of fire safety since the 1920s.

For most families, their home is their most expensive investment.

They should not gamble regarding the necessity of protecting it.

— Altoona Mirror