911-Address-Request-Form  Click, print, complete & return

Any machine or system is only as good and strong as the sum of its parts.   We are blessed with the nation-wide enhanced 9-1-1 infrastructure.  From any phone, with just 3 numbers, help could be on the way to your door.  But what if every minute or even second was life threatening, and the emergency assistance couldn’t find where you were as quickly as needed?  Smoke rising from the roof is easier to see from the road than someone with a heart attack needing CPR.

It used to be that when an ambulance was needed you called the rescue squad and, hopefully, the hard working volunteers could respond as soon as needed.  Or when the chimney caught on fire after a winter of yo-yo temperatures, the fire department’s number was right in the front of the phone book.  It used to be that when, in a panic, someone looking for immediate help simply said their name or said “…at the old Baker place”, and those responding knew just where to go.

That system worked well for many years, but times do change.  New developments with additional houses get built, people move more frequently, or the fire department can’t find your house because you just moved into town and there is no number on the mailbox at the end of the driveway.

Now the community as a whole pays for the emergency services that we all rely on day and night, 365 days a year.  They are services that you might never need or might desperately seek tomorrow.  The funds that make these services possible are part of the property taxes we pay:  Newport Ambulance Service close by on Johnson Plains, the shared Fire Department with North Hyde Park, and the Lamoille County Sherriff’s Office.

Using funds left by Eden Rescue, the Eden Selectboard purchased 911 markers for every residence in Eden.  The NHP/Eden Fire Dept. started installation the weekend of May 4th and will continue throughout the summer and into next year until all are marked.  This will make their job responding to your emergency as fast, easy and straightforward as possible.  That reflective green sign with your 9-1-1 identification number on it, positioned so that emergency responders can easily see it and know exactly where to turn, gives you reassurance of their life-saving assistance.

 

For more information on Vermont’s Enhanced 9-1-1 system, please visit their website:  http://e911.vermont.gov/municipalities

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Listed below are the Enhanced 9-1-1 Board’s standards for displaying address numbers:

(a) Address numbers must be a minimum of 3 inches high, 2-1/2 inches wide and reflective.

(b) A number shall be placed on the front of every addressed structure.

(c) Mailboxes shall be marked with the house number. Where mailboxes are not in front of the house or structure to be marked, a number shall be displayed on the structure, if it is visible from the road.

(d) If the structure is not visible and no mailbox is beside the driveway leading to the structure, a sign or number post shall be erected to display the number. This sign or number post could display the number either vertically (from the top) or horizontally (from the left).

(e) Shared driveways shall be marked both at the beginning of the driveway and where the driveway splits to each specific structure.

(f) In Vermont, it is very important that the address number be placed high enough that it will not be obscured by snow during an average winter.