SABATTUS — Don Therrien drove up the street and back, lights on his truck flashing, looking for the house with the tripped alarm.

Up. Back.

“I went by this house four times — the mailboxes went from one number and skipped over his,” Therrien said.

It was 7:30 p.m. one day last week. Finally the fire chief took his best guess. He happened to pull in the right driveway.

The homeowner was fine; he’d set off the alarm accidentally. But, frustrated that the situation could have ended much worse, the chief is asking residents to revisit their mailboxes, and he’s drawing attention to a new statewide building code that will require 4-inch, easily-seen house numbers on new construction.

“If they want us to take care of them, they have to help us,” Therrien said.

Inspired by that incident, he drove several roads in town this week and said he was “dumbfounded” by how many examples he found of poorly numbered homes. Stickers half peeled off. White numbers on white backgrounds. Numbers blocked by the little red mailbox flag. Boxes numbered but squeezed so tightly together in a row that they can’t be read.

“We’d fly right by that,” Therrien said, pointing to one with inch-high numbers. “I think a lot of it is taking the time to put themselves in our shoes.”

The new statewide Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code takes effect Dec. 1 for towns with an existing building code; July 2012 for towns without one; and stays voluntary for towns under 2,000 people. It includes a clause on address numbers: They have to be “plainly legible and visible from the street or road fronting the property,” at least 4 inches high and a half-inch wide.

Dick Dolby, acting director of the new Bureau of Building Codes and Standards, said it’s a requirement likely born from E-911 efforts.

While it only applies to new construction, “There is no question it would be best if everyone did it,” Dolby said.

Before the uniform code, which the Legislature approved in 2008, “A majority of the state had nothing that said you actually had to have something on the side of your house,” he said. “If somebody could be there in the early seconds (of an emergency), it could mean the difference between you don’t have a house or you don’t have a child.”

Many towns, such as Sabattus, have relied on local addressing ordinances, which can include fines for not following the numbering rules.

Therrien said he’s looking for friendly cooperation, and is open to volunteers willing to go door-to-door to raise awareness. He understands that some people number their homes and mailboxes with more of an eye toward decor than safety.

“Hopefully they see where we’re coming from,” he said. “The last thing I want to hear is, ‘You guys went by four times and my mother died.’”

kskelton@sunjournal.com