Once again, Watch Hill Firefighters have encountered a situation where our response was unnecessarily delayed due to poorly marked, inappropriately marked, and completely unmarked home addresses.

In this case, firefighters responded to a narrow dead end road and were faced with three large homes that were not marked properly. No one was home at any of the homes and no audible fire alarm could be heard from outside the residences. As a result, Firefighters had to check all three homes before locating the correct home and gaining entry to investigate the cause.

One of the most efficient ways to ensure First Responders can effectively respond to emergencies at your home is to help them arrive in a timely fashion by properly marking you home. In order to enhance response times, the Watch Hill Fire Department strongly encourages all residents to comply with the local ordinance and to properly post their address numbers to make sure you can be found in your time of need.

The following are the MINIMUM requirements of the town ordinance.

§ 94-6 Display of numbers.

All residents and other occupants are required to display assigned numbers in the following manner:

A. Number on the structure or residence. Where the residence or structure is within 50 feet of the edge of a street right-of-way, the unobstructed assigned number shall be displayed on the front of the residence or structure in the vicinity of the front door or entryway.

B. Number at the street line. Where the residence or structure is over 50 feet from the edge of the street right-of-way, the unobstructed assigned number shall be displayed on a mailbox or post at the edge of the property line.

C. Size and color of the number. Number shall be displayed as follows: The number is to consist of numerals of at least four inches in size and be of a color that contrasts with the background on which it is placed and shall be so located as to be easily visible from the street.

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