By Lee Levesque
One of the biggest issues facing local emergency responders is addressing. We can surely get to any road or street in the county with minimal delay, but once there it can be extremely difficult to identify which home is in need of our assistance without proper addressing. Did you know that there is actually a law requiring every structure to not only have a visible address but it goes so far as to outline what it should look like? Here is an excerpt from the law:
“International Fire Code Section 505: Premises Identification 505.1: Address numbers. ALL buildings shall have approved address numbers, building numbers or approved building identification placed in a

[caption id="attachment_8048" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/News-Safety-Lee-Levesque.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-8048" title="News-Safety-Lee Levesque" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/News-Safety-Lee-Levesque-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> Lee Levesque is a Firefighter and Public Affairs Officer at Lady’s Island-St. Helena Fire District. Contact him at 843-252-3431.[/caption]

position that is plainly legible and visible from the street or road fronting the property. These numbers shall contrast with their background. Address numbers shall be Arabic numerals or alphabet letters. Numbers shall be a minimum of 4 inches (102 mm) high with a minimum width of 0.5 inch (12.7 mm) per numeral.”
Please take a few minutes to look at your home from the street, look to see if your address is there both at the street and on the structure. If it is not, please consider helping us help you. For a very small financial investment, you can improve the chances of survival more than you could ever imagine.
If you have questions or concerns about addressing, please feel free to call or stop by your local fire station. Firefighters are always prepared to help in any way and the advice and help is free. Remember, the life you save could be your own.