PLEASE UPDATE YOUR 911 ADDRESS WITH MOUNTAINEER INSURANCE SERVICES!
The postal service has begun canceling address forwarding from your old address. If you check any correspondence from us, look at the address. If it is your old address, PLEASE notify us and give us your new address.
Public safety and timely emergency response is the primary objective for E-911/physical address assignment. An address may be changed to correct any circumstance that may cause emergency responders’ confusion when locating an address in the event of an emergency.
Common reasons why addresses may change:
Possibilities include that current addresses on your road are incorrect in that they are either non-sequential or that both odd and even numbers are located on the same side of the street, or that there is not enough space for new construction being permitted. We use only whole numbers to address homes and businesses, measuring every 5.28 feet. Also, it may have come to our attention that there are multiple residences located in one building designated as apartment “A, B, or C”.
How do you come up with the numbers you assign?
Our addressing system is based on distance, every 5.28’ is a potential address, each 1,000 numbers equal a mile. We normally start at the beginning of the road (at the intersection off the main road) using a (GPS) Global Positioning System unit to get the latitude and longitude of the center of the driveway used by the structure. We then take the latitude and longitude and enter that information into our GIS Mapping System. We then measure from drive to drive using the measurement of 5.28’. The resulting number is the 911 Address. We deviate only to designate addresses on the left or right side of the road. Even numbers on the left, and odd numbers on the right.
For example: If you live at #1020-Lawrence Ln., you live 108.86’ from the center of new Chapel Rd., 105.86’/5.28’ = 20.04, so the start # for Lawrence Ln. is 1000 + 20.04 = #1020-Lawrence
Ln.
This method of addressing is invaluable for our emergency responders. As soon as the dispatcher gives them the address, they know exactly how far down the road the house actually is and on which side of the road as well. Some of our cities in the past were addressed in a block numbering system. We are currently converting some roads within our municipalities and county to the 5.28 ft. system. This type of numbering is a nationally accepted practice that enables emergency responders from all jurisdictions to respond anywhere in the United States.
If you use a Post Office Box for mail the 911 Address would not be your address for mail purposes. Please check with your post office concerning where to locate your mailbox.
When 911 changes your address, they only notify the following. They do not contact Insurance Agencies.
a.) Postal Service
b.) Tax Assessor-County Clerk’s Office – County Election Office
c.) Emergency Services
d.) Utility Companies
Why does my car GPS not put me in the correct location?
The commercial GPS market is enormous and not designed for Public Safety. The designated road points most of the time are not in the same locations as the designated beginning points used in public safety and 911. Our accuracy is more important than those in the commercial market because public safety must be as accurate as possible to save lives, not to have a package delivered or to find a restaurant. We send updates to the vendors of some commercial
markets, several times a year. Once this information is sent it is up to the vendor as to when they update their data for public use.