What is in an address? An address is more than a place to deliver mail. A physical address is where you are located.
When 911 asks for your address, that address tells us where you can be found and can be located easily on the mapping system. Your address should be displayed and marked clearly on the entrance to your residence and/or property. If there is more than one residence on the driveway, each residence should be clearly marked.
If you live on a lane, drive or part of the road where the postal service has advised you to place your mailbox at a different location or put it together with the neighbors’ mail boxes, you still need to mark your entrance and residence clearly. When emergency responders are on the way to help you, a group of mailboxes will not tell them which house is yours. By clearly marking your address with three-inch or larger numbers, it helps them see where to go and get to you faster.
Also, keep your address posted inside your house where it can easily be seen by all family members and visitors. This will help them tell 911 the location if they need to call for you.
KNOWING YOUR SURROUNDINGS
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Have you had to call 911 from somewhere other than a residence, maybe on a highway, back road or even a hay field? Knowing where you are or what roads you are traveling on will help narrow down your location. Advising what road you are on and the crossroad or address you are near is one way to help. If you call in to 911 and say that you are on Highway 63, 137, 32 or 17 without any other crossroads or landmarks, that means you could be anywhere across Texas County. 911 dispatchers will help narrow down your location if you don’t know it by asking questions that may
include:
•Where were you traveling to?
•Where were you traveling from?
•Have you gone through any towns, and if so, how long ago?
•Are there any other mailboxes in the area?
•Are there any other roads, and if so, how far away are they?
By asking these questions and with the help of the mapping equipment a dispatcher will get as near as possible in locating the emergency and send out the closest – and correct – responders.
The Texas County Emergency Services office in Houston is funded by a 3/8-cent countywide sales tax approved by voters in 2013. Director Susan Hale and assistant director Terra Culley can be reached by phone at 417-967-5309 or by email at texascounty911@hotmail.com.
