Minn. Responders Grateful After E9-1-1 Sign Installation

Sept. 23--WORTHINGTON -- In the month since rural address signs were erected across Nobles County, emergency responders have already witnessed the benefit of having them in place.

Brewster Fire Chief John Garmer said his department was able to quickly respond to a recent motorcycle crash involving people unfamiliar with the area after a crash victim walked to the nearest farm site and told the 911 dispatcher the address.

"That really aided them, knowing where they were at," Garmer said, adding that the addition of the signs has been a good asset to the county.

"Most of the people I've talked to have had positive remarks," he said.

"I think it promotes a positive image in the county -- (that we look out for) the safety of everybody," added Dave McNab, manager ofambulance operations for Sanford Worthington Ambulance. "For someone who is ill or injured, every minute counts."

In an age when many use devices like global positioning systems (GPS) to get to where they're going, McNab said the rural address signs are still nice because, "As nice as GPS is, I think everybody knows that's not 100 percent reliable."

Positive messages about the 911 address signs were shared during the last Nobles County Emergency Management Planning Advisory Committee (EMPAC), according Nobles County Emergency Management Director Joyce Jacobs.

"It is National Preparedness Month, and having these signs up helps us prepare for the day when we might need a rescue vehicle at our house," Jacobs said.

Nobles County financed the signs, with the public works department overseeing installation. Public Works Director Stephen Schnieder said that while most signs are in place, some still need to be erected. The list for sign placement was created more than a year and a half ago, and new homes, wind towers or livestock sites built within that time did not get signs.

"We have some we have to order yet to put in," said Schnieder, who hopes those signs will be in place by the end of the year.

On the flip side, signs were also installed on some properties to identify two separate homes. Since the list was created, there are instances where a manufactured home is no longer on the site and the sign isn't needed.

All of the signs feature not just the rural house, confinement barn or wind turbine, but the street name or number as well. Schnieder said that option was added after hearing from other county leaders who now wish they had included both the house number and street name on their signs.

"There are a lot of people coming in and out of our community," Schnieder said. "(Having both the house number and street name) gives them a quick reference of where they're at."

Now, the focus has shifted on getting people in the unincorporated communities of Nobles County to place address numbers on their homes.

Residents of Reading, St. Kilian, Kinbrae and other villages are asked to display a house number on their home for easier identification in the event of an emergency.

"We'll go out in later October or early November to identify which homes do not have numbers," Schnieder said. In some instances, he added, street address signs may need to be placed at some residences if a home sits back farther from the road.

"A lot of people didn't want the post and the sign in their front yard," he said of the reason for not placing signs at addresses in the unincorporated towns.

"We're asking people to (put the house numbers up)," Schnieder said. "It's for their own protection -- their own good."

Schnieder has received some reports of signs being removed or moved since they have been in place. He requests that people don't do this, and urges those who want to move it to a different area to first contact Nobles County Public Works (295-5322) to discuss it.

"We don't want the signs mounted on mailboxes and we started seeing a rash of that," he said.

Instead, the county wants the signs far enough away from the road so as not to be damaged by snowplowing efforts.

"Consistency helps," Schnieder said. "People shouldn't arbitrarily go out and move (the sign) around."

Copyright 2014 - The Daily Globe, Worthington, Minn.