Visible street addresses or the lack thereof could be the difference between life and death.
Grenada EMA/911 Director Trebia Rodgers is pleading with residents to post visible street addresses at the roadway of all homes to assist first responders during the event of an emergency.
“It makes it unnecessarily difficult for responders to find people if the numbers are not displayed in a manner that is easy to see,” she said. “A lot of people like scripted numbers or put the address in words – twenty-two, ninety-one – and I’m sorry, at two o’clock in the morning when it’s pouring down rain, they’re not pretty and you can’t find it.”
According to Rodgers, the Grenada County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance in 2020 requiring that all house numbers be displayed at a minimum of three inches in height with contrasting numbers and background.
“While validating addresses we found many homes that do not display the address or the numbers have faded,” she said. “It is best to make sure the number is reflective so that it is easier to see at night, during heavy rain or just for some of us that may not have the best eyesight anymore. Seconds count in an emergency. We don’t need to spend unnecessary time looking for the correct house.”
If your mailbox is on your driveway and it leads to your house, Rodgers said that is a good place for the address numbers. If you do not have a mailbox or it’s across the road or grouped with other mailboxes, then she said it’s best to have a post with the numbers mounted to it at the driveway, so responders can identify the correct house quickly.
“Help us help you before first responders are needed in an emergency,” Rodgers said.
Reflective address signs and numbers can be purchased at most local businesses that stock hardware supplies.
Rodgers added that over the last few years, Grenada EMA/911 has been revalidating all of the addresses for the City of Grenada and Grenada County. During this process, several discrepancies have been discovered.
“We have found that many homes no longer exist because they have burned or have been torn down,” Rodgers said. “In other situations, many individuals have obtained addresses with plans to build a home and either changed their mind or built in a different location.”
Many of these addresses remain on the county’s 911 map, which causes problems.
“These addresses inhibit our emergency personnel when trying to locate a home for an emergency response,” Rodgers concluded. “We would like to encourage anyone that experienced changes to please call us, so we can remove the address from the map.”
To contact the Grenada EMA/911 Office to report changes, call (662) 226-1076.
