The Cedar Hill Fire Protection District soon will have an easier time finding homes when they’re responding to emergencies.
Cedar Hill Fire will use funds from a $14,770 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant it received last year to buy 100 residential address markers to be installed at homes throughout the district. Those markers will make the addresses more visible for law enforcement, emergency medical services and fire crews.
“A large portion of our district is rural,” Cedar Hill Fire Chief Mick Fischer said. “With many of these roads, the mail carrier doesn’t go down the road, so all the residential mailboxes are at the beginning of the road. We have found responding in these areas (where mailboxes are not directly outside the residence) that a lot of times it can be difficult to locate exactly where residents are because GPS isn’t always super accurate.”
Each of the markers is a 6-by-18-inch sign with white reflective address numbers attached to a green steel post.
Fischer said firefighters will work to install the markers for homeowners who apply for the program.
He said some of the grant funds were used last October to buy 70 Knox Residential HomeBoxes for residents. Residents who participate in the lock box program leave one house key inside the box, which is exclusively accessible to Jefferson County first responders who need to get into a home when a victim can’t open the door. The box can be installed on a garage door, security door or front door, allowing first responders to gain entry into a home when responding to an emergency without breaking a window or door, according to the Knox website, knoxbox.com/homebox.
After the district bought the lock boxes, it didn’t see as much interest as was expected, so it still has about 25 lock boxes available for residents.
The district also was left with about half of the grant funds to be used, so it spent $7,161 to buy the address markers, Fischer said.
“I reached out (to FEMA) and asked for a variance to use the extra funds to do the signs,” he said.
Fischer said this is the first time the district has used a FEMA grant to purchase address signage. In the past, the grants were used to install free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in homes.
Fischer said people who live within the district may apply for both a lock box and an address sign by visiting Station 1, 6766 Cedar Hill Road, in Cedar Hill. Residents may also reach out to the district through e-mail at secretary@cedarhillfire.com.
Program preference will be given to those with homes without a mailbox at the end of the driveways or those who live at homes with poorly marked street addresses.
Once approved for one of the address markers, the homeowner must call MO Dig Right at 811 to ensure the area in which the sign will be installed does not have important utility lines. Afterward, firefighters will install the sign at no cost to residents.
For more information about the district’s community programs, call Cedar Hill Fire at 636-285-3345.
“I’m hoping we can get the word out and give these signs out,” Fischer said. “It’s going to be beneficial for not only the people who live here but it will be beneficial for first responders in getting to their emergencies quicker. It’s better for anybody involved in those situations.”