About a week ago, Red Bank Fire Chief Mark Mathews made a special trip to Ace Hardware to buy a set of reflective numerals to mark his new mailbox.
Unfortunately, he says, a lot of people haven’t gone to that trouble. When his department’s trucks respond to emergencies, they often get stuck trying to decipher the exact location of un-numbered homes.
“We eventually find it,” Chief Mathews said. “We have never left anybody or anything like that. But we have had delays in getting to the right place if there’s not clear addresses marked on the mailboxes.”
The chief says he has worried about this issue for some time. So when a concerned citizen mentioned it to him at last week’s City Commission meeting, he decided to take action.
He is researching the issue to draft an ordinance that would require residents to display their addresses prominently and hopes to bring it back to the commission for a vote as soon as possible.
Red Bank Mayor Joe Glasscock has expressed his support of the idea, as did several commissioners at last week’s meeting.
Don Allen, director of Hamilton County Emergency Services and chairman of the Hamilton County 911 Board, also supports the measure.
“Seconds count when we are responding to help people,” Mr. Allen said. “People should not assume that because their neighbor’s house is marked, we can identify theirs.”
Brian Turner, the county’s director of Information Technology Services, said officials try to ensure that house numbers are as consistent as possible and that street names aren’t duplicated. But updating the Geographic Information System is an ongoing process, and new inconsistencies always crop up, he said.
In recognition of the problem, the U.S. Postal Service already requires street numbers on mailboxes for delivery, according to spokeswoman Judy Mahaffey.
“But we all know that that’s not always enforced,” Ms. Mahaffey said. “We’re not going to not deliver mail because of it.”
The best the USPS can do is periodically issue notices to those with blank boxes asking people to comply, she said.
Signal Mountain Police Chief Boyd Veal says emergency personnel know that creating rules won’t necessarily fix the entire problem. His town has had an ordinance on the books for several years that requires building numbers on either a mailbox, house or curb.
“It’s not going to be something that’s ever going to be completely enforced or intact,” Chief Veal said. However, he added, “most people do a pretty good job of it, and it helps.”
He said people need to realize that it’s in their best interest to comply.
“It’s kind of like the helmet law on a motorcycle,” he said. “You’re protecting yourself when you adhere to the law.”
