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Address signs crucial in emergency times |
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Tuesday, September 23 2008 |
Reflective address signs can save lives when seconds count
By CHRIS MEYERS
Staff writer
When there’s an emergency at a home every second counts, which is why having the address clearly marked is crucial to those responding.
To help more local residents get the visible address signs they need, a Saturday fundraiser breakfast will also offer the chance to place and pickup the bright green signs that already dot many roads.
“They are such an advantage for law enforcement, fire and EMS response,” Mark Hodges, Whitley County sheriff, said recently of the signs.
They can be ordered any time at the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department, but for Saturday’s breakfast event at the Columbia Township Fire Department, the orders can be picked up that same day.
“We want to try to get as many out there as possible,” Jim Bohnstedt, CTFD chief, said.
At only $10 apiece, the fire and sheriff’s departments break even for supplies needed to make the signs, but their value can be priceless when responders need to find a home that might not be visibly marked.
“We don’t make a profit. We’re selling them at barely over cost,” Bohnstedt said.
The signs have address numbers on both sides, which helps find homes that have addresses only on the side of the mailbox where the mail carrier approaches, according to Hodges.
They can also be helpful when responding to a home that is in a tight cluster of other homes.
Hodges said the signs also help find homes around them that don’t have clear markings.
“I would encourage anybody — even if they have markings on their mailboxes — to invest in one of these signs,” he said.
Half-signs are available for homes in towns that may only have a three-digit address. Arrows can also be placed on the signs to direct responders to homes not on the same side of the road as mailboxes.
E-mail staff writer Chris Meyers at
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, September 24 2008 )
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