“Until there is an emergency in your life, your physical address doesn’t matter.” That’s how Kelly Atchley, an employee of the North Tahoe Fire Protection District in Placer County, California, near Lake Tahoe, described people’s attitudes towards house numbers. In that area, mail is delivered to the Post Office. As a result, many people forget to maintain their house numbers. The Placer County Board of Supervisors granted the North Tahoe Fire Protection District a fund during 2006 to give each resident who asked for it $25 toward new house numbers.
In Baltimore, Maryland Sgt. Robert Wiseman of the Howard County fire and rescue department said when it comes to house numbers, safety is more important than aesthetics. The county’s emergency responders have been slowed by numbers painted to match the house, weather-beaten numerals, missing or chipped numerals, and numerals that aren’t in a plain style.
Before the introduction of Global Positioning Systems (GPS), fire departments relied on large, heavy, and thick binders called “map books.” Every unit carried one in their cab and they were manually updated. Now cities and counties have been equipping fire trucks and ambulances with GPS units to better locate the emergency caller’s home. GPS is a great system, but it has limitations. For example, it’s only as good as the cell system carrying the GPS signal. In urban locations, if the emergency responder loses the GPS signal, they must fall back on their trusty map book containing subdivision plots to find street addresses. In rural areas, when GPS signals are unavailable, they use plot maps which list the house numbers at the supposed street opening.
Many cities and counties have been implementing ordinances that require residences to display lighted house numbers, or numbers of certain size placed on a contrasting background. These ordinances usually require the numbers installed during new construction or when the existing home is remodeled.
Individual ambulance companies have evolved in staging equipment within a given area. They place an ambulance in the center of a designated area so that it theoretically equidistant from any residence within the area. But given economic trends, many cities and counties are reducing staffing levels and closing fire houses, all of which can increase response time.