Niles fire chief: Make addresses more visible

The chief had an idea for making addresses easier to see.

By JORDAN COHEN

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

NILES — Fire Chief Gary Brown says homes with addresses not visible from the street cause delays for medical emergency crews and he wants city council to do something about it.

Brown told the council’s safety committee Wednesday that he would like an 83-year old city ordinance updated to require visible numbers that are clear of obstructions on all residences.

“Health is the big reason,” Brown said. Unlike firetrucks, “Ambulances aren’t looking for flames. They’re just looking for addresses,” he added

The fire chief said the city is still operating under a 1925 ordinance, which assigns responsibility for reporting inaccessible numbers to the housing inspector or the police department. It requires the city rather than the homeowner to replace the numbers.

“That may have made sense when we had police walking a beat,” Brown said, “but I don’t think the police want that as part of their job description.” Residential compliance should be the responsibility of the building inspector, the chief said.

Brown suggested a standard of 4-inch high numbers visible on each house at all times regardless of such obstructions as trees, shrubs and snow, including those homes with addresses painted on curbs.

Niles Law Director J. Terrence Dull said he plans to develop a draft of an amended ordinance for the next safety committee meeting in two weeks. The change could include court proceedings should residents fail to comply after receiving warnings.

“Court costs aren’t cheap,” Dull said.

Brown also asked the safety committee to look into requiring installation at each business of secure boxes containing keys to be accessed during a fire or medical emergency. Only the fire department would have access.

“These boxes cost around $199 and it costs more than that if we have to break a window to get in,” Brown said. The fire chief was uncertain how many city businesses have these exterior containers, referred to as Knox Boxes by the manufacturer.

Brown asked the law director to determine whether the city could mandate use of Knox Boxes for existing businesses as well as new ones.