Get a reflective address sign – free! – at this Saturday’s fire dept. Fun Fair.
They shoot through the soil along roadsides and driveways, and though they seem passive, their tentacles could one day threaten your life.
Often unnoticed by homeowners, weeds, grass and bushes, along with a host of other offenders, obscure house numbers around the island and hinder emergency crews trying to locate those in need.
Now, in an effort to make every Bainbridge home easily findable, residents are being asked to tame briers for the fire department.
“We want to know where people are,†said Glen Tyrrell, interim fire chief. “We need to know that every address on the island is visible.â€
The fire department will give away 300 reflective address signs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 17 at the Madison Avenue fire station.
The signs will be distributed until supplies run out at the fire department’s annual “Fun Fair,†an event that educates the island public about various safety issues.
Fifteen hundred signs were purchased for the same purpose across Kitsap County, thanks to a grant from the Department of Emergency Management. Each sign is valued at about $15.
The Bainbridge Island Fire Department recently adopted from the city the responsibility of ensuring visible signage.
Tyrrell and fire Capt. Dave Hannon said each of the city’s three fire stations has access to a map that includes every home on the island, but some homes are still more difficult to locate than others, particularly those that sit back off the road down shady driveways.
“It’s a typical problem in semi-rural areas,†Tyrrell said. “But we need to deal with it to be sure people are safe.â€
Newer houses are among the better marked structures, but Tyrrell said there are still plenty of problem areas.
Missing numbers on mailboxes or signs near the road are common, as are numbers blocked by overgrown foliage.
Clusters of houses also pose problems for emergency crews, who sometimes have difficulty determining which house in the group needs assistance.
Some people, in an effort to be subtle, have posted numbers that blend in so well with the exterior of their home that they can’t be seen at all, which is why the fire department now is aiming for consistency.
“A lot of houses look like they’re clearly marked,†Hannon said. “But we need to also think about what they look like under the worst possible circumstances.
“Sure, I can see it when it’s sunny out, but what about when it’s dark, rainy and crummy? How do I know it’s the right house? We just want to bring awareness to the issue and make sure it’s something that people are thinking about.â€
Which is also the purpose of the Fun Fair. Child identification and bike, water, boat and outdoor fire safety are among the issues to be highlighted at this year’s event. Educational demonstrations will include vehicle extrication, kitchen safety and fire extinguisher use, and there will be a visit from the Airlift Northwest helicopter.
Tyrrell said the biggest upcoming safety issues are bike safety, fireworks and outdoor burning, all of which become more common as weather improves.
The fire department is also working on a program that will give emergency crews access to the medical histories of incapacitated victims in order to help them administer the proper treatment.
But the main focus for now is on addresses.
Both men asked people to think of their neighbors as well, especially the elderly, who might not be able to do the maintenance work that could possibly save their life.
“This is an important part of what we do,†Tyrrell said. “It’s things like this that could mean the difference between life and death.â€