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When Mintues Count

Matt Boster

Viewed: 6304

Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Feb 25 2015 6:07 AM

(Chipley, FL; February 24, 2015) Imagine, one night something happens and you call 911 for emergency services. Your black and even gold medal house numbers screwed into your front porch’s dark colored post, that are not that easily found during the day, become impossible to find during the night.  Emergency vehicles drive down your street, who are looking for your house, drive by it because they can’t find it. Losing precious moments that could save a life. 



Think your house number is easy to read? We have a test for you. Invite a friend or an associate to your house at night. Just give them your street address and how to find your street. The basic information most emergency vehicles have is the location of the street and a house number. Do not tell them where you are on the street. After they arrive, ask them how easy it was to find your house.     
You may have adequate numbers on your mailbox, but, is your mailbox grouped with others? If so, can your mailbox numbers be easily matched to your house? Most mailboxes are on one side of the street, some are even grouped together. Having numbers visible from the road on your house, is just as important as having your numbers on the mailbox for the postman.


 


Washington County Sheriff’s Office would like to stress the importance of correct E-911 address posting.  It’s not only important for emergency personnel response, it’s the law.


 


Take the time to follow these critical steps concerning your E-911 address: 


ENSURE YOUR TELEPHONE PROVIDER HAS YOUR CORRECT 911 ADDRESS.  


People placing emergency calls often have difficulty providing their addresses. Children, visitors, hearing or speech impaired callers, or callers in a life-threatening situation, may not be able to provide address information to dispatchers. Ensuring your telephone company has your correct 911 address is important as that is the information (911 address) that is displayed in the call center. This allows the dispatchers to send the appropriate fire, medical personnel, or law enforcement, even if the caller is unable to communicate. 


POST YOUR ADDRESS 


Locating you quickly in your time of emergency without delay is our goal.  To assist emergency services, post you 911 numbers at the entrance to your driveway and on the structure. Numbers need to be visible from the road and should be 3” high x 1 ½ “ wide for residential structures.  For more information of the specific requirements for Washington County residents see county ordinance 14-2


 


DO YOU NEED A 911 ADDRESS? 


In order to receive a 911 address there must be a permitted dwelling (house, mobile home, recreational vehicle) on the property, or the property must be used for agricultural purposes.  Vacant land is not assigned an address.  To receive your address, simply contact the Addressing office at (850) 638-6308.   


WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT E-911


 


Why should the numbers be reflective?


So that your address may be seen during the day and/or during the night, and will be reflected by headlights as well.  It is best not to assume that during your time of emergency that ‘power operated’ or ‘solar powered’ signage will be able to be seen if the power is out or the weather has not permitted your solar powered device to work effectively.


 


How is an Emergency Responding Unit going to see my reflective numbers on my home if I live way off of the road?


Washington County Sheriff’s Office recommends that if you live more than 120 feet off of the road that your address ALSO be posted at the top or the entrance of your driveway with a minimum of 4 inch reflective numbers.  Having your address posted in both places in very important.  Mounting your address high enough to avoid obstructions is important as well as not being blocked by bushes, flowers or branches.


 


Can I post my E-911 Address in my yard if I live closer than 120 feet from the road?


Most definitely so.  This is just another “clear” indicator of where a responding emergency unit should go if you are having an emergency of any kind. 


 


I have my address on my mailbox, isn’t that enough?


No it is not.  In your time of emergency the responding units will be trying to locate you near the address of your home and not where you receive your mail.  Having your E-911 assigned address on your mailbox for mail purposes is important but may not be enough for us to locate you in an emergency. 


 


Should my E-911 Address be visible from both directions?


Yes.  Your E-911 Address should be visible from the road coming from either direction as responders could be coming from either direction and not just coming from town.


 


I am going to tell the E-911 Dispatcher exactly where I am when I call, so won’t that be enough?


No one should assume that during their time of emergency that they will be able to talk or even speak clearly for that matter. It is a known fact that during an emergency it is likely that your speech may be impaired for any sort of reason regarding your emergency.  So please DO NOT assume you will be able to convey your location in an emergency.


 


I have called 911 before and no one had a problem finding me, so shouldn’t they be able to find me again?


Again, no one should assume previous occurrences will affect future occurrences.  Yes Emergency Units will be dispatched properly and provided with “cross streets” and in some cases “directions” regarding your location but if you have your address clearly posted in such a way that responding units can see your E-911 Address, then emergency responders will find you quickly. Remember TIME IS CRITICAL in all situations where you may need help, so time lost trying to find you could mean the loss of life and or property!


 


During my last emergency I had someone who was there with me go outside my home to flag down the responding emergency units letting them know where I was, can’t I just get them to do that again if I have another emergency?


Certainly, and this is good practice even if you have your house numbers posted appropriately as it further guarantees that emergency responders will find you as quickly as possible but this does not take the place of posting your house numbers appropriately. 


 


I have my address on my front door or on my front porch but we never use the front door we always use the side or back door, should I post my address there also?


Yes definitely!  Especially if your driveway leads to that door. Remember, any visual form of address identification helps responders find you faster.


 


I live in an apartment/duplex or a Mobile Home Park, is my apartment/duplex number or my lot number a part of my E-911 Address and should I post that also?


Yes it is very important.  Your apartment number, duplex, suite number, building number or even lot number to the MHP shows how your E-911 Address is different from everyone else’s address.  No two homes should share the same numerical E-911 Address.


 


I moved my home to another location and I still have my address on my home, should I remove the old number?


Yes definitely! If you moved your home from one location to another location all of your E-911 Address changed including your house numbers and only the new one should be posted.  Even if your address has been changed OR corrected by our office and you have not physically moved your home, then the old number(s) and/or letters MUST be removed replacing with the “new” accurate E-911 Address.  Having the incorrect number(s) or letters posted WILL cause confusion and will delay help from finding you.


 


My home or establishment is not occupied during all months of the year, should I only post my address when it is occupied?


No. Your E-911 Address should be posted at ALL times and is the home owner’s responsibility to do so.  An emergency can occur even when no one is at home or at your establishment.


 


Can I have my address posted in too many places?


No absolutely not.


 


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