Despite the relatively low cost and minimal effort involved, many homes and businesses in and around Houston don’t have physical address numbers displayed.
According to law enforcement officers, firefighting personnel and emergency medical responders, that’s not a good idea.
“What if someone gets hurt in your house or your kitchen catches fire, and the people who come to help can’t find where they’re supposed to go?” said Houston Police Chief Tim Ceplina. “Most of this department’s officers know the city well enough that we can find a place fairly quickly, but where we get the complaints from is ambulance crews. The people on those crews might not anywhere near as familiar with this area, and without a number to go by, they can be in a tough situation.
“When you need emergency responders, you need them. You don’t want them having a hard time finding you and you want to give them all the assistance you can.”
Within the city limits of Houston, it’s technically illegal for homes or businesses not to display address numbers. According to City of Houston ordinance No. 18-18, numbers three-inches tall must be visible. If a property owner doesn’t do it, a tenant who has been in place for more than 30 days is responsible.
“We’re not looking to write tickets over it,” Ceplina said. “This is for peoples’ safety.”
Ceplina said that amazingly, a significant percentage of the houses in Houston appear to be entirely unequipped with address numbers, let alone ones that comply with the ordinance.
“I was driving around the other day and I would estimate that 40-percent of the houses I passed by didn’t have numbers on them,” he said. “That’s a pretty big deal.”
Outside the city, responders can’t always be expected to find a destination by turning “just past the old barn” or “just before the big cedar tree.” And when time is of the essence, searching for such landmarks can waste crucial minutes, or even seconds.
“A lot of times when we’re going to a fire, smoke leads us on the trail,” said Houston Rural Fire Department Chief Don Gaston. “But with medical responders, having that number out there on the road or on the mailbox can let them know where a place is at. We’re stressing that to our members this year.”
Ceplina brought up the old saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
“Like Ben Franklin said, ‘those who fail to prepare, prepare to fail,’” Ceplina said. “That applies to so many facets of life. You just have to consider the ‘what-ifs’ and prepare for it.
“And let’s face it – it’s three bucks at Walmart for some bolt-on letters that go on the side of your house or stickers that go on your mailbox out by the road. I think the safety of my family is worth three dollars.”
“When you need emergency responders, you need them. You don’t want them having a hard time finding you and you want to give them all the assistance you can.”
– HPD Chief Tim Ceplina