Is your house number visible from the street? Massachusetts has specific requirements.
Bellingham firefighters say that in their town, and all over, some neighbors need to add a potentially life-saving task to their spring home improvement projects.
It seems like a no brainer, but first responders are running into the issue more and more: house numbers that are too small, or not posted at all.
"As many departments are in this area, we're getting busier and busier and trying to locate a resident in an emergency, whether it be a fire emergency, or medical emergency, seconds, minutes count," Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Miller said. "Check your house number. We got to tighten up on this."
Massachusetts law has specific requirements.
Standards for house numbers in Massachusetts
Among the standards, according to the state Department of Fire Services:
- All numbers must be four inches high.
- All numbers must be lighted at night.
- If the home is set back from the road, the house number should also be placed alongside the road, at least four inches high and lighted at night.
And it could make a difference more often than you think, even helping your local delivery driver.
"It happens every day almost. Sometimes it's behind a tree, sometimes the house is too far and it's next to the door. It's impossible to see it. I'm walking sometimes in circles and the house is literally in front of me," said one driver.
On many occasions, first responders from other towns come to help. And so even though your local crews might know the lay of the land, in the middle of the night or the rain, scouring an unfamiliar street wastes time.
"Having that number, those seconds, those minutes, that all counts, both on the fire and EMS side," Chief Miller said.
The chief added that if there are any seniors in town who need help installing new, bigger numbers on their home - a firefighter would be happy to help.
