Where do you live again?

Is your house number posted?

For years now, organizations have used schools to target our children and educate and prepare them for the dangers that we worry they’ll all face.

Firefighters tell children every year to make sure the smoke detectors are working in their homes and that they have fresh batteries. (And then they get to play on the Beeg Red Truck. With the Beeg Water Hoses.)

School bus safety is reviewed every fall with the help of Busby, the Department of Transportation’s Robotic Miniature School Bus. This is a great hit with the kiddos.

Here in the Great White North, Sammy the Snowplow steams in to alert school-age kids about the dangers of playing too close to the road.

The RCMP comes to the schools every year to promote the Stranger Danger, DARE, and Anti-Gambling Strategies, along with a regular drop-in program designed to make the children more comfortable and aware of the people behind the uniform.

And I'm sure I've forgotten some. I think there was a Talking Green Bin in there somewhere......

Now, officials with the provincial Emergency Management Office are asking children to make sure their parents have civic addresses properly displayed on their houses or properties.

Emergency Management Minister David Morse talked to grade 4 and 5 students at local elementary schools last week as part of a new effort aptly called ‘Sign Up For Safety!’ to have homeowners display their civic numbers prominently somewhere on their properties.

 “Too many houses either don’t have a sign, or the one they do have isn’t easily visible. Every second counts in an emergency - and police, firefighters and paramedics will lose valuable time if they can’t easily see which house needs emergency help.” Mr. Morse stated.'Please check your sign when you get home - can you see it from the road? How about at night? It doesn't help an ambulance if your sign is overgrown by weeds or dangling and twisting in the wind.

"If it’s not easy to see, they should get a new sign," he told the students, showing the students a reflective sign. "Also, it does no good to have a bright sign on the house if the house is 300 feet off the road," Mr. Morse said. “The emergency vehicles must be able to see it.”

Whether attached to the mailbox, the house itself or a tree out front, those simple signs can mean the difference between life and death. Most service organizations can replace your old sign quickly and simply - if the Lions Club doesn't participate in your area, the RCMP will know whom to contact.

The province of Nova Scotia is asking everyone to be sure to post their house number. I realize everyone doesn't live here in Nova S (my gosh, where would we put y'all?) but it's a call to action for all Canadians.

I would think, though, that the thought of the ambulance screeching past your house as they hunt for you would give you pause enough.

Comments

[mapsgirl]

The City of Toronto has a law about Municipal Numbers and what size they need to be on your house.

http://www.toronto.ca/mapping/numbers/numbering.htm

It's great to see the federal government jumping on board.