Because that fire made such an impression on her, at the start of each school year, Maureen made it a point to teach her new students how to escape safely through the windows of their first- and second-floor classrooms. When she was in restaurants and stores, Maureen was also adamant — to the frequent embarrassment of friends in her company — about demanding that emergency exits be unlocked and free of obstructions, or she would call the fire department. Her crusade even forced her local library to buy new doors with safety bars for the emergency exits.

Last month, 21 young people died in a Chicago nightclub on the South Side. Rear doors with unlit exit signs had been locked to prevent people from sneaking in, but they also prevented people from getting out. When security guards allegedly used large amounts of pepper spray and Mace to break up a fight, panic swept the crowd and clubgoers charged the nightclub's entrance at the base of a narrow flight of stairs.

Following that tragedy, one of Maureen's friends who had been embarrassed by her demands for fire safety called to apologize for giving her a hard time about always checking emergency exits. Those 21 young people crushed in a stampede might not have died if someone had raised a fuss about those locked exit doors, a fuss that also would have brought attention to the fact that the club was open despite noted code violations and a court order.

The very next morning, a bouncer from the club was interviewed on WGN-AM. Yes, he's a bouncer, but he said he is also a firefighter! He said he knew the doors were locked to keep people from sneaking in because the club management wanted people only coming in and going out the front of the building.

A firefighter knew the exit doors were locked and he worked there? I'm sorry, but this teeters between lack of common sense and irresponsibility. If one person — a teacher — can be as vigilant about fire codes as Maureen, why can't every firefighter and EMT be the same way when they go about their daily routines?

According to U.S. Fire Administrator David Paulison, the United States averages 3,000 fire fatalities every year. That number is the worst death toll in an industrialized nation. If fire calls are down, why haven't fire deaths decreased?

Maybe we need to regularly publicize the number of fire deaths in the same way that state police agencies announce the number of highway accident deaths around major holidays. Fire prevention is for every month, not just October. If only President George Bush or Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge would announce each week's fire deaths during press conferences, maybe then the media would pick up the lead.

As I finish this column, nearly 100 fatalities have been reported in a night club fire in Rhode Island. Details still are coming in, but both the stampede in Chicago and the pyrotechnics in Rhode Island are going to shine the spotlight on basic fire codes and prevention. Fire codes are not just for fire, they address many aspects of safety. Will every official gathering of 10 or more now include identification of all exits? Probably. The IAFC announces locations of exits before most meetings and conferences. Why not take their lead at all functions?

Whether you fight fire full-time or volunteer your services, you are an extra set of eyes watching for fire safety. Fire prevention doesn't end when you leave the station, and with more than one million firefighters in this country, you can make a difference when you're off-duty. Don't let unsafe conditions persist in your off hours.

It's your job to save lives, whenever you can. But you already knew that.