When fire breaks out or a medical or crime emergency occurs, seconds count.
But in Washington Parish, emergency first responders are sometimes slowed down because some houses do not have their addresses properly displayed.
“It’s a really bad problem,” said Brandon LaSalle, chief of the Franklinton Fire Department.
LaSalle said, “The extra time it might take to find a home can be a very big impact on saving a person’s life, and sometimes a child’s life.”
He noted that lack of a proper address being displayed also puts a load on dispatchers because they have to spend more time on the phone with the victim trying to get the information needed to guide the first responders.
LaSalle said good address signs can be purchased for a nominal price from most parish fire departments. He pointed out that address numbers for mailboxes are available at hardware stores and other retailers.
“I urge everyone to get the proper mailbox labeling or an address sign,” he said. “This can be and actually has been a life or death problem.”
Bobbi Jo Breland, Parish Homeland Security Director, agreed with LaSalle. She said address signs can be purchased from most fire departments for $15-$20.
She added, “A well-marked reflective address sign is much easier for first responder personnel to find you when you need help. I would encourage citizens to use reflective numbers so they can be seen at night, as well as during the day. Think like someone who has never located your home and post the address where it would be very obvious.”
Postal regulations require house numbers to be displayed on mailboxes. By postal regulations, the numbers must be at least one inch high and must be displayed on the side of the mailbox facing the mail carrier’s normal approach. However, parish fire chiefs are advising residents to put their address on both sides of the mailbox, as well as to consider a separate address sign.
House numbers should be reflective and in a color that contrasts with the mailbox, such as white lettering for a black mailbox.
Also, to help both first responders and postal carriers, residents should cut back any weeds or branches that might be obstructing the view of the address on the mailbox.
