By Christina Bramlett Life Safety Educator / PIO / Firefighter/Paramedic
When it comes to any emergency, time is the enemy. Shortness of breath, a heart attack, or a fire; all get progressively worse with time. Finding you in your emergency is our first step in saving lives and property.
At 398 square miles, Monroe County meets every definition of a rural environment.
While some Fire/EMS personnel are from here, some are not; and while you know where you are, and our staff knows where the roads are…it isn’t always as simple as that.
Monroe County has some dark roads and has more properties than not that have long secluded driveways. Many homes have beautiful mailboxes, and many homes have custom decorative numbers up on their home. But seeing them on a dark night or in the middle of a monsoon is not easy.
We have several homes where the house number is painted the same color as the siding and it’s ON the siding.
While you can easily see our red flashing lights in the dark, our first responders can’t see you waving on the porch.
We want to get to your emergency as quickly as possible, but even with digital maps, they are not always correct.
Our volunteer
District Chief Ralph Burris from Station 2 makes blue reflective metal signs for our community as requests come in.
These double-sided metal signs come bolted to a
metal post and can be ordered horizontally or vertically to be placed at your driveway.
We’ve had some neighborhoods who collect $20-25 from each neighbor and they’ve ALL got their Emergency Address Signs installed.
It is very easy to get your sign! Order online at www.MCESGA.com or stop by our Headquarters at 693 Juliette Road, Forsyth to submit your information and
payment.
For $20 we will get your sign ready with your house number! $5 extra
and Chief Burris will deliver and install it for you. Communities across the country utilize these to the point that their legislators pass ordinances for them. They are highly reflective and easy to see from our trucks.
They are literally lifesavers.
Help us, help you, and get your Emergency Address Sign today!
