Many times people under stress call from rural areas and then have to give long and complicated directions. In the middle of the night, when someone is breaking in, or when there is a medical emergency, it's hard to give directions. It would be nice for all emergency services personnel to know where every family lives, but that is not possible, except in very small communities. If you have a switch to make your porch light flash on and off, that would be helpful. If you can activate a flashing light on the top of your house, that would be helpful.
Most people know the name of two major streets which intersect near their home.
If you were to walk out your front door and down to the nearest corner, THAT is the closest cross street. It might be a major street, a minor street or even an alley or a court, but it is an intersection. Most public safety agencies have geo-files which list the closest cross street to every address they serve. Some geo-files show two streets, between which lies the address in question. You can help by knowing what the closest cross street is.