Quick question: Let’s say you’re an EMT responding to an emergency call in the middle of the night. You arrive at your destination, find a shared driveway with multiple mailbox numbers but aren’t sure which house corresponds to which address.
What do you do?
That’s a question Killingworth Ambulance Association EMTs confront often enough that they’re making a public appeal, reminding local residents to post visible address numbers identifying their homes. Otherwise, they said, first responders can get lost.
That sounds as logical as it is rudimentary. But, apparently, the message hasn’t gotten through.
“The biggest problem,” said Mike Haaga, the KAA’s chief of service, “is common driveways. There seem to be a lot of them in Killingworth, and some are long driveways. They’re kinda like private roads, with a house on the right and one on the left … and at the end of the road, they could have a number of mailboxes. When you stand there, how do you know which is which?”
You don’t.
“You see that,” said EMT James Fretz, “and you go, ‘Uh-oh. I don’t know if we can find it.’ “
One responder recalled a recent call where two homes were located in close proximity to each other, yet only one mailbox appeared in front of the two. Because both had reasonably long driveways, the ambulance backed down the shorter of the two, with EMTs hoping they’d come to the correct address.
They hadn’t. Result: A delay that could’ve been … but wasn’t … critical to the victim.
“I’ve had one house in the past month where the ambulance responded three times,” said an EMT. “And two of the three times we went down the wrong driveway … because neither they nor their neighbor had a house that was marked. And that’s just during the day. During the night, it’s really hard to find them.”
OK, we’ve established it’s a concern. What can you do? EMTs have a variety of suggestions, and let’s get started.
- First and foremost, if you have a mailbox at the end of your driveway, have it marked with visible numbers on both sides (preferably in reflective figures). Emergency rescue vehicles could be coming from either direction.
- If you’re on a shared driveway with multiple mailboxes, make sure to post an address number where it can be seen by first responders. Trees were mentioned as one possibility.
- If there’s more than one person inside the home, it can be helpful for an individual to stand outside and direct emergency vehicles to the address.
- If it’s an evening call, turn on lights inside the home … if, that is, it’s possible. “I hate waking up people in the middle of the night,” said one EMT, “and it’s the wrong house.”
- “Sometimes,” an EMT said, “the number is on the front of the house, but you can’t see it because the house is 100 yards in from the road. When a call comes in, it can be helpful if the victim tells the 911 operator something like the color of the house. But that can happen only if the person calling can give them the information. Often, they’ve fallen and can’t.”
- Several years ago the KAA appeared at local fairs and civic events to hand out porch light bulbs that blinked on and off after they were activated. That helped in emergencies, especially at night, with the flashing lights serving as a distress signals to first responders
“A good decision,” Plato once said, “is based on knowledge and not on numbers.” The Killingworth Ambulance Association would disagree. Its EMTs believe a good decision is based on knowledge AND numbers.
“Every little bit helps,” said Fretz. “As long as people have a number that can you see … that’s the important thing. The important thing is just to get a number on the mailbox.”
The KAA’s advice dovetails with information documenting a recent surge in responses – especially with falls. According to the Ambulance Association, it answered a record 496 calls in 2021, up 34 percent from the previous year (370), with 117 of those responses the victims of falls. That’s a 64.7 percent hike from 2020 (71).
Bottom line: Identify your home with visible numbers. Your life could depend on it.
“For those who don’t think it’s important,” said Haaga, “I’d tell them, ‘It’s not. It’s not important at all … unless you want to have an ambulance or fire truck show up at your house.’ ”