Is your home address visible from the road?

If your home is secluded, or your home street address obstructed, you might want to invest in an address identification sign that may enable fire and emergency personnel to locate you quicker in the event of an emergency.

When the fire department finds you, can they reach you?

Is your driveway wide enough to allow a fire truck to reach your home? The Fire Department recently checked a driveway for a homeowner and found that large trees located on each side of the driveway were too close together to allow a fire truck to pass between them. Another driveway inspection found a bridge that was not wide enough to allow a fire truck to cross. Please keep in mind that fire trucks are much larger than the largest SUV or pickup. Just because you can get to your home, doesn’t mean the Fire Department can.

Use this checklist to help determine if a fire truck can reach your home:

• Is there ten foot wide clearance?
• Is there ten feet of clearance overhead?
• Do all the turns have a wide radius?
• If you have a bridge is it wide enough and strong enough for a fire truck?

Fire doubles in size every minute. CPR should be started within four minutes. A delay of one to two minutes in locating or reaching your home can have devastating consequences. If you have any questions concerning your address sign location or whether your driveway is passable for emergency vehicles, please contact us.