House numbers painted on the curb in front of your home can be helpful to first responders, but they are not the primary tool our firefighters and paramedics use to locate your home in an emergency. Our primary tool is mapping software that is available on the computers in all of our emergency vehicles. In the unlikely event that the computer or GPS fails us, we look for numbers on your house, mailbox and or curb. When selecting address numbers for your home, select a size that is easy to read from the street and a color that contrasts with the surface to which they are attached or painted.