As a volunteer fire fighter here in Halifax County, Virginia, I cannot tell you how many times that I've been called to the scene of a fire or emergency and not been able to find the house or location of the victim.   The problem is that more than our fair share of citizens fail to properly identify their numerical address on their house, yard or mailbox.

One dark , cold and rainy  night last year, we had a call to a chimney fire on Mountain Road.   I came through the neighborhood with the fire truck lights flashing and the siren blaring and went right past the house.    There was no prominent marking on the owner's mailbox or house, so we could not tell what address we had just passed.   However, most of the time, when  we get called to a fire, it is obvious which house is on fire, but in many cases, the fire is not yet showing outside when we arrive on the scene.  In this case, there was no hint of a fire.

The precious minutes that an emergency responder wastes in finding your address can mean the difference between putting the fire out before much damage is done, or watching your house burn to the ground.  The same goes for a medical emergency.

We recommend that everyone ensure that your address is easily visible from the road at night.  And, it also helps to have someone come out to the road and flag down the emergency responders just in case.  Every little bet helps.