Forget losing weight, exercising, eating better, making more money etc. One of the best new year's resolutions you can make is to make your house numbers brighter, bigger and more visible!

What?!? The West Richland Police Department and other agencies remind people if you're house numbers are not readily visible, or (especially at night) well lit, they might not be able to respond as quickly in case of an emergency.

They didn't list specifics, but did cite a very recent emergency where they really had to scramble to make sure the home they were responding to was correct. Fortunately, it was and no issues resulted from the few extra minutes taken. But it brings home a point. The house number was not seen from road, and was poorly located and lit.

Think for a minute the last time you were going to a location or someone's home for the first time. GPS gets you there, but when you pull up, you're not sure. There's no house number, or the one is not lit up enough to see. After muttering or yelling a few choice words you have to get out and hunt around.

Police and emergency personnel say utilize the following steps when redoing your house numbers.

  • If possible use larger dark letters on a lighter backround.
  • If house color is dark, use light letters or a nameplate where they can be displayed
  • Make sure there's adequate lighting so the number can be seen from the street.
  • Even if letters are big, don't paint them the same color as house!
  • And don't use weird or confusing number styles, or fonts, because not everyone sees things the way you do.

It only takes, in most cases, a few minutes to make the adjustments so your house number can be seen from a distance, but remember the minutes saved in an emergency when crews are able to quickly locate your home--because you have a nice big well lit house number.

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