Thanks to common sense and the Albany Fire Department, Henry and Dorothy Turcott gained peace of mind and saved money at the same time.

The Albany couple last week attended a meeting at a Lebanon restaurant held by a safety products company and were told they needed six smoke alarms, which would cost them $3,000.

“Everybody there was in their late, late 40s or retired,” Henry, 67, recalled of the meeting. “There were no young kids.”

The Turcotts were on hand after being invited by an acquaintance who had received a card in the mail authorizing him “to bring up to so many people,” Henry said.

“I thought we were going out to dinner,” he said. “Here it was a fire safety meeting. I noticed the equipment, but I didn’t see any sign of any company name, no brochures, no business cards.

“They gave us a quiz, showed a film on safety and said, ‘We’re not going to give you any prices tonight, but we want people to fill out a card, everybody who’s interested in safety.’”

The next day, two men visited the Turcotts’ home for an evaluation.

“I told them I will not be purchasing anything today, but if you want to spend time going through your program, fine, I’ll listen,” Turcott recounted.

The verdict: The couple allegedly needed those six detectors — at more than 10 times the cost of what one would pay at a hardware store. And the total price would rise by $300 if they didn’t buy right then.

In the end, it all sounded too fishy for the Turcotts, who reported their experience to the Albany Fire Department. The department responded by sending safety educator Wanda Omdahl to the couple’s home, and she brought and installed four new smoke detectors, at no charge, replacing the single, aging model that was in place.

Omdahl subsequently shared with the Democrat-Herald a letter sent last month to Albany Fire Chief Kevin Kreitman by Scott Jech, owner of Fire Safety Etc., the Vancouver, Wash., company that conducted the gathering the Turcotts attended.

The letter announced Jech’s plans to open an office in the mid-valley, offered special product deals to firefighters and invited Kreitman to attend an upcoming meeting such as the one held in Lebanon.

The Democrat-Herald spoke to Jech by phone but he declined to answer any questions about his company or the products it sells, saying he fields media inquiries only if received in writing.

What you need

Just about everyone knows smoke alarms are a good idea, but do you know how many do you need, and what kind?

Fire safety officials say the rule of thumb for smoke alarms is one outside each sleeping area, as well as at least one on each level of a multilevel home. The Albany Fire Department recommends one in each bedroom as well.

Whether hard-wired or battery-powered, or of the ionization or photoelectric variety — all work well if properly installed and maintained — alarms should be replaced every 10 years because their sensors wear out.

If you heat your home with natural gas, propane or firewood, or cook with natural gas, you should also have a carbon monoxide detector.

Like smoke alarms, CO detectors come in a variety of prices, but quality units can be purchased for well under $50.

Also, for community members in need, the Albany Fire Department will install smoke alarms, CO detectors and fire-escape ladders for free.

For more information, contact the department’s Wanda Omdahl at 917-7734.