Valley Mills Fire Department says they are having trouble finding houses.
On Wednesday, Valley Mills Volunteer Firefighter Mike Smith was rushing to a fire called for a house off of Road 317. When they arrived on the scene, it was a false alarm. For Smith, it came as a relief, given the amount of time it took to find the actual location.
According to Smith, Valley Mills Fire Department has been having trouble locating homes on GPS. At least once a week or more they can’t find houses even with GPS technology. This can pose a potential problem for emergency workers.
“When we don’t see the address in GPS or the number on the mailboxes we go to the next house with a number on it,” Smith said.
Cities and counties have the option to create ordinances that require numbers to be a certain size and height for visibility. Currently no such requirement exists for Valley Mills.
Smith, however, said homeowners should be motivated to make their addresses easily accessible. Smith said local hardware stores sell 9-1-1 kits as well as larger numbers they can place on mailboxes.
Valley Mills Fire Department is also giving residents the option to buy the kits from them. For $20 the fire department will install the kits for homeowners.
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