Lisa Barton

Can emergency responders (ambulance, firefighters, police) find your home in a crisis? Hopefully you’ll never need to make a distress call, but if you do it’s critical that the appropriate help can find you. When dispatched to a home or business, responders rely upon a clearly visible, large, unobstructed address display to find the right house or business. Address numbers should be prominent and contrast with the immediate background, such as black on white or white on black. The numbers should not be covered by trees, shrubbery or other obstructions. The same is true for street signage.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office is trying to get the word out that addresses must be clearly visible, too often precious time is wasted when addresses are obscured or missing. This problem is greatly intensified when emergency dispatch - including Fire/Rescue, life guards, the Florida Wildlife Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard - respond to distress calls from waterways. Waterways don’t have street or address signs and often no visible landmarks. Boaters or other distress victims in waterways, especially if they are unfamiliar with the area, often are unable to advise emergency responders where they can be located. To address the problem, businesses and residential owners along our waterways are being asked to post their full address - since there are no street signs - on the waterside of the business or residence or on a dock or boathouse so that it is clearly visible. Large letters (at least four inches tall) in reflective materials - for night visibility - are encouraged. A few minutes saved can help save a life!