The Crookston Fire Department (CFD) is currently conducting address sweeps throughout the entire city. The last time sweeps were conducted was over 5 years ago, and the CFD needs to make sure they can accurately locate any address given in the event of an emergency.
Firefighter Brian Hanson says that the city is broken down into chunks, and each firefighter will be going out sometime this month to make sure addresses are clearly marked. “Each firefighter has a ward that they take care of through the emergency management system,” said Hanson. “I’ve already taken the time to go out and take care of my ward earlier this month. What we are looking for is that the address is on the house and visible from the street. It’s great that it’s on the mailboxes, but we need it on the house itself in case a car or something is blocking the mailbox.”
There are four reasons why the CFD may think your address is not properly marked.
- Address numbers not present on residence.
- Numbers not visible from the street fronting the property.
- Numbers do not contrast with the background.
- The numbers are too small.
If your home is deemed as not having proper address numbers by the CFD, you will be left a notice in the mailbox regarding why its’ been deemed so. If you are home the day the CFD checks your house, they will talk through suggestions to fix the problem and why it could be dangerous not to. A picture of the notice the CFD is handing out can be found down below at the bottom of the article.
Brain Hanson stated a few other reasons why it’s crucial to have the correct address numbers be visible from the street. “If someone is having a medical emergency and has fallen and can’t get up, they may not be able to come outside to notify someone where they are,” said Hanson. “If you can’t see the address numbers, it makes it difficult for us to find the person in need of help.”
Hanson said it’s happened a few times where the CFD has driven by the correct address because it is not clearly labeled, and because of this, more damage can be done to the property. Hanson recommended going to a local business and buying new numbers that mesh better with the background of your home if needed.
Hanson also made the important point of noting that just because your house is on fire doesn’t always mean the CFD can see it from the street driving by. “Just because your house is on fire, that doesn’t mean that we can see it if the smoke isn’t coming out through the house,” said Hanson. “It may be hard for us to see it if it’s contained in the house itself.”
The CFD recommends taking all necessary steps to make your address clearly visible to the Fire Department and the Police Department, as well as any other emergency departments that may need to locate it.
