MAKE IT VISIBLE……….
When I get dispatched to a call, especially a “hot†or “in progress†callâ€, I feel slightly relieved when I pull onto the street and see house numbers all lit up or visible on almost every house. It is one less thing for me to worry about. If I get dispatched to a call like a burglary, domestic violence, medical emergency, suicide attempt, or a child choking, I don’t need to waste time trying to find your house. I don’t want to drive past your house 3 times, or park down the street only to find that your house is 10 houses further up the street.
If I can find your house immediately, it saves critical minutes. And in some cases, minutes mean the difference between life and death. Victims of a heart attack or stroke, or a choking infant need immediate care. You don’t need the police or paramedics wasting time looking for your house. Imagine being home alone and awakening to the sound of breaking glass in another room, then hearing footsteps coming down the hallway.
Quite a traumatic experience to those that it happens to. Seconds seem like minutes, minutes seem like hours. Would you want the police officer that is responding to waste time by going to the wrong house? Or be getting out of his car a block away because there are no numbers on the houses? Not me, I would want the officer to know exactly where my house was, to be able to go directly to where the problem was without wasting time looking for the right house.
Not having visible house numbers is also dangerous for police officers responding to violent or dangerous calls. An officer could mistakenly drive into or past a dangerous situation without realizing it. They need to know exactly where a problem is in order to approach the situation safely.
This goes for police, firefighters, paramedics, or even neighbors too. If there is a problem at your house, they need to find it immediately. I hear a lot of calls where a neighbor reports an emergency but they don’t know the address. This waste valuable time by having to go to the neighbor’s house first to have them point out the house where the problem is occurring.
House numbers don’t increase in any particular order. Some house numbers may increase by 2 on some streets, and by 4 or 6 on other streets. If all (or most) houses are clearly marked, officers or emergency personnel will know how far up a street your house is. Remember, minutes could mean the difference between life and death.
Go outside and look at your house numbers right now. Are they visible? Has vegetation or trees grown over the numbers? Has the house been painted with the numbers painted over too? Is a number missing, or there are none at all?
Don’t use the excuse “I rent, it’s not my responsibilityâ€. It IS your responsibility, to yourself and to your family. Address numbers can be simple and cheap, or elaborate and expensive. But they are all effective, and accomplish the same thing.
Even those in apartments that are not numbered very well can help themselves. Hardware or home improvement stores sell a wide variety of numbers and letters, from simple peel-and-stick ones to fancy wood ones than can be painted or stained. We don’t care if you have to use a big felt marker to make numbers, just make them visible. If you have elderly or ill relatives or friends, make sure their house numbers are visible.
Emergency personnel workers don’t care what type or how fancy your house numbers are, as long as they are visible from the street. It doesn’t do us any good if we have to walk up to a front door to see the numbers. The best place to put the house numbers is on the porch near the front door, or on the inside trim of a garage if you have one. The most effective numbers that a lot of homebuilders are using now is an illuminated box that lights up the house numbers at night by using low voltage from your doorbell. These are extremely visible day and night, and make finding houses very easy.
Take a moment and go look outside right now. See if your house numbers are visible to the street. If not, make them visible. It could mean the difference between life and death.
NetCopsPSI
