March 28, 2024

Why Are Address Signs Important?

Posted

Why are address signs important for residences in Seekonk? It essentially comes down to this: Can we find your home quickly? That’s all there is to it! Let’s take a look at an example.

Imagine that it’s late at night. You’ve tripped and fallen down your stairs. Nobody else is home. Fortunately, you have your cell phone and can call 911. Now, think about how easy it will be for us to find you. It’s dark. You may have a large property, or a house set back in the woods. Maybe you have a gate. Is your house easy to find? Would it be easy for somebody who has never been there before to find it? In the dark? Even if you live in a more populated neighborhood, is there anything that distinguishes your house from the rest of the houses on the street?

That’s why address signs are important. We need you to give us the tools to help us find you quickly. Help us help you! With a twisted ankle, the extra five to ten minutes it might take would only be uncomfortable. But what if it was more serious? A heart attack or a stroke? Any extra time taken to find you could be the difference between life or death. Think about it… Next time you are driving home, play a thought experiment in your mind. Imagine that you have never been there before, and all you have is a street address (because that’s all we’ll have). What can you change to make it easier for us to find you? Our recommendation is to install a clearly visible address sign.

It's the law:
• Massachusetts General Laws C. 148, S. 59 specifies that every building in the state must have clearly visible address numbers posted.
• Seekonk Town By-Laws – Category 30 – “Building Numbers” - The Board of Selectmen shall require that every building used for a dwelling house or a place of business in the Town of Seekonk bear, in a conspicuous place, a clear and legible building number. This number must be a minimum of 4” in height and contrast with its background in order to be visible from the street. For buildings with considerable setbacks or situated in a way which the number is not clearly visible from the street, the building number shall be located in a manner in which it can be seen clearly from the street (on a mailbox, post, etc.) …

The following are some guidelines on house numbers for a residence in the state of Massachusetts:
• Use large visible numbers
• Numbers on the residence need to be a minimum of 4-inches in height and facing the street.
• Put numbers under lighting, and use numbers with a contrasting background, so they will be visible at night.
• If your driveway is long, post your house number on both sides of a mailbox or sign pole at the end of the driveway near the road. A reflective sign with reflective numbers is recommended for optimal visibility.
• Be sure to keep numbers visible by trimming trees and bushes

At the end of the day, we are here to help. However, the action of properly displaying your address could help us find you, and could be the action that saves your life or the life of a loved one.

Seekonk Fire Department
500 Taunton Avenue
Seekonk, MA 02771

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