Make your address visible and your driveway crew-friendly
In a wildfire, a structure-protection crew may have minutes to find your house, position their truck and lay hose. PreparedBC (and Ready.gov / FEMA...
In a wildfire, a structure-protection crew may have minutes to find your house, position their truck and lay hose. PreparedBC (and Ready.gov / FEMA in the US) tell homeowners to display the civic address clearly from the road in reflective numbers that are visible day and night, and to keep driveways and gates wide and clear enough for a fire engine to enter and turn around. A typical engine needs about four metres (around 12 feet) of clear width and a turning area or pull-through. Trim back overhanging tree limbs, move parked vehicles, and unlock gates during evacuation alerts. If your property has a pond, dugout, cistern, or swimming pool, mark a dry hydrant or a hose access point that crews can find from the driveway. Rural properties on long lanes should consider posting signs at the road for any auxiliary water source. None of this prevents a fire — but every minute saved by a crew finding your home and connecting to water is a minute they can spend defending it. These are low-cost steps that materially change how defensible a property is during an active event.
A typical fire engine needs about four metres of clear driveway width and a turning area to defend your home — narrow lanes and locked gates can mean crews skip the property entirely.
Source: PreparedBC — Wildfires
Last reviewed 2026-05-02.
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