If you live in Fire District 6 and want an address sign, email signs@ccfd6.org
If you don’t live in Fire District 6, you can buy large, reflective address numbers from a hardware store.
Last winter, Fire District 6 firefighters rushed to help a woman who was having a heart attack. But when they got to where the map said her house was, they couldn’t find it.
There wasn’t a visible house number or mailbox. It was dark and windy, and critical minutes were passing. The paramedics searched by flashlight and entered what they believed to be the correct house through a sliding glass door from the backyard. Luckily, they were right. The woman, who survived, was found alone in a back bedroom.
Her story and others like it have prompted Fire District 6 to revamp a program that offers homeowners address signs that are visible from the road. The money for the reflective signs, which cost about $4 each, comes out of the district’s general fund, said district public education coordinator Sarah Mitchelson.
As firefighters roll up to a call, they’ll look out the window of the fire engine to confirm where they need to go. Without clear numbers, it’s not always obvious.
“You can waste a lot of precious time, which is what you don’t want in an emergency,” she said.
When firefighters come across problematic addresses in their jurisdiction, which covers Hazel Dell, Salmon Creek and Felida, they leave postcards offering to put up a sign for free. The district has to get permission from homeowners before placing the signs.
On Tuesday, firefighters posted a sign for a Hazel Dell house that’s at the end of a long, hilly driveway. It’s a long way for firefighters to walk with all of their gear, particularly if it’s the wrong house, Mitchelson said, and “you cannot physically see the house from the road.”
Firefighters also staked a sign in the yard of a home that was recently converted into an assisted living facility. They’ve previously been to the house, which has a long driveway and a tree blocking the house number.
“Just go to the street and look at your numbers. Can you see them from where you are?” Mitchelson said, adding that foliage should be kept trimmed.
She’s noticed more homes on flag lots, where crews could miss the driveway if it isn’t clearly marked with the neighborhood’s address numbers. The district can fit about four address numbers onto a single signpost.
“You can see smoke and flames, but you can’t see someone having a heart attack,” Mitchelson said.
