Paramedics urge clarity on house numbers

PARAMEDICS are asking Victorians to make sure the number on their house, apartment, farm or property is visible from the street to help crews find it quickly in an emergency.

Visible property numbers are crucial when emergency services need to find a location quickly, and taking simple steps to ensure it can be seen from the street could save your life or a loved one’s life.

Ideally, the numbers should be reflective to ensure they can be seen during both day and night.

Ambulance Victoria acting executive director of regional operations Michael Georgiou said Victorian paramedics sometimes responded to properties with inaccurate, unclear, or missing property numbers.

“Our crews also often see trees and shrubs blocking the view of property numbers which can significantly delay their response and ability to get to the patient who may need life-saving treatment.

“Time is of the essence in an emergency, and we’re asking the community to do their part in ensuring they can be easily located if they find themselves needing our help.”

Properties including houses, apartment buildings, farms and commercial buildings should be clearly numbered so that they can be easily located by our crews or other emergency services.

“Take a walk or drive past your property to test the visibility of your property number – if you can’t see it, we can’t either,” Michael said.

“Those on farmland should make sure that not only your home has the number visible, but also ensure the direction from the main road is well marked and signposted.

“We want to get to you as quickly as possible and having your home clearly marked with a number makes a massive difference in our response and the patient’s outcome.”

Whenever possible, send someone outside to wave the ambulance down and take first responders directly to the patient.

If you are unsure of your exact address point location and number, head to mapshare.vic.gov.au/webmap/address

For more information, head to ambulance.vic.gov.au/community/education/make-your-property-numbers-visible