Maitland City Talk

Spring is here, and with the nice weather many people are thinking of outdoor activities involving sprucing up around home. Gardening, painting, and general cleanup activities seem to work their way into our schedules this time of year, whether we want them to or not. The “honey do” seems to pop up just when we seek to sneak in some recreation. But being good homeowners and partners, we take care of our biggest assets: our home and family.

Perhaps now’s the time to take a look at the house for any quick repairs that may be needed, or perhaps a coat of paint inside or out. While we’re looking at the exterior, one of the ways you can help your first responders – both fire and police – is to check the address numbers on your home.

By having your correct address numbers posted in a visible manner we can find you faster in an emergency, especially one that has no external visibility such as an injury or illness inside the home. We get the old joke about following the smoke and flames of a fire, but the majority of emergencies addressed in modern times involve medical conditions, not fires.

For homes, address numbers should be posted in a location that is plainly legible and visible from the street or road that emergency responders would use to reach you. The size of address numbers and/or letters for residential properties should be at least 3 inches tall. The markings should be Arabic numerals or alphabet letter and should contrast with the background. Take a moment and check your address, is it visible from the road and are the numbers or letters large enough to recognize? Does it contrast with the background and would you be able to see it at night with a flashlight or spotlight?

One other item to look for is any large plants, vines, or vine like plantings around the home. A quick trim can alleviate the obstruction of a good address number without too much trouble.

Since we’ve talked about a way you can help us help you outside, we should take a moment to discuss an item inside the home. We’re at the point again where we’ve changed the time setting on our clocks. With the changing of the time we’d like to remind you to check your smoke alarms again.

Push the test button to make sure that they all sound an alarm. Replace the batteries if needed. Take a look at the label on the detector to see how old this very important safety device is. If the smoke alarm is 10 years old or older, the manufacturers and National Fire Alarm Code require they be replaced. At 10 years, they start to lose their sensitivity to smoke and may not work properly if you ever need them.

If you’re not sure of how to test the smoke alarm or would like to have the alarms checked, you can contact your Maitland firefighters at 407-539-6226 and they’ll be happy to assist – our family helping yours.

— Dennis Marshall, Fire Marshal