Be prepared for emergencies with visible house numbers

It's 2 a.m. and you place a 9-1-1 call for a medical emergency. A person suffering a cardiac arrest or stroke needs to receive immediate medical attention. According to Lifesaving Resources, Inc., brain damage can occur after five minutes. When the call comes from a landline, our dispatch center can provide the address and cross streets to the responding station.

If the caller is on a cell phone, they have to provide the location. Many people are deciding to do away with their landlines and only use a cell phone so this is becoming more of an issue. Under the stress of the moment the caller may not provide accurate or thorough enough information for the responders to locate the home quickly. On a dark, moonless night it might be difficult to find that "green house next door to, or around the corner from, the beige one."

Our neighborhood, and most of the county, has homes that are set back from the road. They might be so far off the road that it's difficult to see the numbers over the front door, especially if they are the same color as the home. Some homes are located behind thick trees or shrubs so the numbers that are on the house aren't even visible from the road. Part of the charm of our neighborhood is the large lots and the lack of street lights as well as the privacy but we don't want that to be a hindrance in a time of emergency.

"What we encourage, along with law enforcement, would be a clear view of the house number that is unobstructed by trees, vegetation, and the like," said John Babcock, assistant chief of the Ruhenstroth Volunteer Fire Department. "The numbers should be large enough to read from the road if the dwelling is close enough to the street. The numbers should also be in a contrasting color to the structure. Also a benefit would be reflective numbers attached to a newspaper delivery receptacle, as many of our residences have one. Of course, the numbers should be on both sides of the post."

The Topaz Volunteer Fire Department started a program a few years ago that provided homeowners with post and reflective numbers on a green background that can be installed near the driveway entrance. They are still offering these at a minimum donation of $15. Contact John Wise at 266-3941 or Dave Thomas at 266-9864 if you'd like one for your home. I checked our local Home Depot for the cost of reflective numbers for those that prefer to do-it-yourself. The 5-inch reflective numbers are $1.58 each. The typical four number address would cost slightly less than $14 for eight numbers to be attached to both sides of a post.

Have a ramblin' good week.

n Reach Gail Davis at RuhenstrothRamblings@yahoo.com or call 265-1947.