Pa. pizza drivers, firefighters promote home numbering
Butler firefighters created flyer with order form that residents can use to buy reflective house numbers; flyer will go out with pizza deliveries
By Margaret Harding
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review
BUTLER, Pa. — Emergency responders and pizza delivery drivers have something in common.
They both need to find you.
In the city of Butler, the two are teaming up to make sure each can do that easily by encouraging residents to properly number their homes. It's a safety measure other communities are pushing as well.
Butler firefighters have created a flyer bearing an order form that residents can use to buy a $10 sign with reflective house numbers. The numbers are uniform in appearance. The flyer will go out with every box of pizza delivered by Fox's Pizza in Butler.
About $6 from the sale of each sign will benefit the police and firefighter unions, said Lt. Donald Crawford.
"A lot of people don't have their houses marked, and we can't see where the call's at," Crawford said. "People who do have them marked, the numbers aren't reflective, so it's hard for us to find addresses. The numbers might be on there 20 or 30 years, and they blend right in."
Alan Miles, owner of Fox's, said locating addresses can be equally tough for delivery drivers.
"We're hoping a lot of people take advantage of this," Miles said. "Delivering at night is not an easy task in the city."
In Allegheny County, it's up to officials in each municipality whether to establish laws for house numbers, said Gary Thomas, assistant chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services and 911 coordinator.
The county recommends certain industry standards, which are that numbers should be about 4 inches tall, be on the front of the house facing the sidewalk or street, in a contrasting color and reflective if possible, he said.
"If you don't have your number properly displayed, it makes emergency responders' jobs much harder, especially at night," Thomas said. "It's good practice for homeowners to keep up and maintain their house numbers so they're clearly legible so police, fire and EMS can get there quicker."
But in Lawrence County, Shenango Township police have decided they are not leaving anything to discretion.
Starting in January, officers will begin charging homeowners whose address numbers are missing or not clearly visible, as required by ordinance in the township, said police Superintendent William Phillips.
"About two months ago, we had medical call of a guy having heart attack," Phillips said. "Neither our guys or the crew could find the house because they couldn't find the address. Luckily, he survived, but we spent 20 minutes looking for the house.
"I don't even think there was a house number on the house."
Township ordinances require all homes to have a blue sign with white numbers in front of the home. The signs cost $10, Phillips said. Phillips estimated about half the homes don't have them.
"I've lived here all my life and I know where all the streets are," Phillips said. "But when you're trying to find certain addresses, if two or three people don't have their house number up, you're guessing at what house it is."
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review
BUTLER, Pa. — Emergency responders and pizza delivery drivers have something in common.
They both need to find you.
In the city of Butler, the two are teaming up to make sure each can do that easily by encouraging residents to properly number their homes. It's a safety measure other communities are pushing as well.
Butler firefighters have created a flyer bearing an order form that residents can use to buy a $10 sign with reflective house numbers. The numbers are uniform in appearance. The flyer will go out with every box of pizza delivered by Fox's Pizza in Butler.
About $6 from the sale of each sign will benefit the police and firefighter unions, said Lt. Donald Crawford.
"A lot of people don't have their houses marked, and we can't see where the call's at," Crawford said. "People who do have them marked, the numbers aren't reflective, so it's hard for us to find addresses. The numbers might be on there 20 or 30 years, and they blend right in."
Alan Miles, owner of Fox's, said locating addresses can be equally tough for delivery drivers.
"We're hoping a lot of people take advantage of this," Miles said. "Delivering at night is not an easy task in the city."
In Allegheny County, it's up to officials in each municipality whether to establish laws for house numbers, said Gary Thomas, assistant chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services and 911 coordinator.
The county recommends certain industry standards, which are that numbers should be about 4 inches tall, be on the front of the house facing the sidewalk or street, in a contrasting color and reflective if possible, he said.
"If you don't have your number properly displayed, it makes emergency responders' jobs much harder, especially at night," Thomas said. "It's good practice for homeowners to keep up and maintain their house numbers so they're clearly legible so police, fire and EMS can get there quicker."
But in Lawrence County, Shenango Township police have decided they are not leaving anything to discretion.
Starting in January, officers will begin charging homeowners whose address numbers are missing or not clearly visible, as required by ordinance in the township, said police Superintendent William Phillips.
"About two months ago, we had medical call of a guy having heart attack," Phillips said. "Neither our guys or the crew could find the house because they couldn't find the address. Luckily, he survived, but we spent 20 minutes looking for the house.
"I don't even think there was a house number on the house."
Township ordinances require all homes to have a blue sign with white numbers in front of the home. The signs cost $10, Phillips said. Phillips estimated about half the homes don't have them.
"I've lived here all my life and I know where all the streets are," Phillips said. "But when you're trying to find certain addresses, if two or three people don't have their house number up, you're guessing at what house it is."
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