Working smoke alarms really do save lives.

That was the theme behind a program hosted at the Lehighton Fire Station on Monday in observance of Fire Prevention Week.A slew of children accompanied by their guardians swarmed the fire station to witness the program which saw the Lehighton Fire Department, Mahoning Valley Fire Department and Franklin Township Fire Department team up.The Lehighton Fire Department, which hosted the event, displayed several pieces of apparatus.Meanwhile, the Mahoning fire company had a fire simulator whereby children were able to use fire extinguishers to spray at a screen depicting the flames.The Franklin Township Fire Department brought its safety house, in which videos were shown, smoke-filled rooms were portrayed, and children were allowed to escape from a simulated bedroom as they crawled through a window and descended down a small ladder with the help of an adult.Trent Johnson, 8, of Lehighton, was all pumped after he climbed out of Franklin's safety house."It was fun to do that smoke thing," he said.Tiffani Herman of Lehighton, brought her daughter, Keira Herman, 6, to the event."They learn about fire trucks and fire prevention," Herman said. "It's very important."Danielle Clewell, of Lehighton, shared the same thoughts as she watched her 6-year-old daughter Autumn."It's a good experience for kids to go through," Clewell said.Lehighton firefighter Joe Flickinger stressed the importance of testing smoke detectors on a monthly basis."We work together," he said. "All of us would rather spend our time preventing incidents."Flickinger then thanked George Larose Insurance, Kim DePue Insurance, William G. Schwab & Associates, Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank, Lehigh Fire Co #1 Social Quarters for their support of the program."Without their support, as well as the other departments, the event wouldn't have been such a success," he said.Per the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), in 2013, there were 1,240,000 fires, which caused 3,240 deaths and $11.5 billion in property damage.Additionally, every 25 seconds, a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation. A fire occurs in a structure at the rate of one every 65 seconds.