By Fred Weeks
Most emergencies happen at night, when minutes seem like hours while waiting for emergency responders. For emergency personnel to find your home easily, it is critical that your address number can be clearly seen from the street during dark hours. Check this yourself from a moving vehicle. If you were unsure of the location, could you see the house number? Is it obscured by shrubs or trees? Have the numbers faded? Is it illuminated by an outside light? Simple things a homeowner can do improve house number visibility are:

• Trim any shrubs or trees now, as winter is a good time to do this
• Freshen the paint on the house numbers and consider a reflective paint for even greater visibility
• Builders placed the house numbers in different locations, so check to see if your is near an outside light
• Keep maximum house number illumination in mind when choose bulbs for fixtures and illuminate

Take time now for these small improvements, if needed. For the
safety of your family, items above could make a huge difference
when seconds count. Please send questions, comments or suggestions to vows.safesecure@gmail.com.