The counties of Carter, Wayne and Ripley are taking a "huge first step" in improving emergency response time thanks to a grant funding 911 addressing in each county.
"We applied for the grant funds through the Delta Regional Authority through the Ozark Foothills (Regional) Planning Commission," explained Wayne County Presiding Commissioner Brian Polk. "We received the grant for all three counties.
"The three of us are three of 12 that don't have (enhanced) 911 yet" in the state.
What each county is getting now is the 911 addressing, which is a "huge step to getting enhanced 911," Polk said. "Having the addressing already in place, it will immediately benefit all first responders -- ambulance, fire, police."
First responders, he said, will be able to locate residences in an emergency situation and respond quicker.
Carter County Sheriff Rick Stephens agreed.
Emergency responders, he said, will be "more efficient in locating the address quickly."
Having that capability is something "we've strategized about since I've taken office, before then too," Stephens said.
The need for new addressing will allow "us to perform our duties more effectively and get to people quickly when needed," Stephens said. "We're extremely happy, and it will be a huge benefit to our county."
Right now, Stephens said, it is "almost impossible" to locate addresses with only route and box numbers.
"It is very challenging; an address of rural route 2, box 106, there are no maps for those" addresses, Stephens said. " ... The new system will pretty much alleviate that entirely and make us so much more efficient."
The addressing program, he said, will be "phenomenal. We will be able to have map books in each patrol car and access (the addresses) through the internet."
The addressing, according to Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch, will be awesome and definitely help getting first responders where they need to be.
The addressing will allow emergency services to be "dispatched quickly to help saves lives and property," said Ripley County Presiding Commissioner Bill Kennon.
Stephens would like to see Carter County eventually get enhanced 911, where the caller's address and directions come up simultaneously in a dispatch center.
Polk and Kennon agreed, adding that enhanced 911 will be down the road for the counties.
The addressing is "a beginning," Kennon said. "I don't want to give everyone a sense of false security.
"The mapping will let us know where (the residences/businesses) are at."
Later, Kennon said, the hope is to come back and implement the "dispatch part" of the enhanced 911, which will allow dispatch services to register a caller's location.
"We're hoping, at some point, to have the equipment to go for enhanced part of it," Kennon said.
In addition to purchasing the needed equipment, the officials said, funding will be needed to keep the services operational.
"Eventually, when we do get something going," it may be "multicounty dispatching," Polk said. "Basically, its dispatching phone calls. It doesn't matter if (the dispatcher) is in Wayne County, Carter County Butler County.
"The important thing is the addressing, so everyone is on the same page."
Kennon agreed, saying the counties may "go together in the future" to get a dispatch center.
"Once we have it done, you can dispatch from almost anywhere," he said.
Missouri, according to Polk, is the only state that doesn't have a state 911 system.
"Hopefully, ultimately, the state will come up with something," he said. "We could have 10 dispatch centers in the state and everyone pay into it and be covered."
While it will be "nice to have full blown 911," it will "be nice to have" the addressing, Finch said.
The mapping, Polk said, will take about 18 months to complete.
Stephens said the program itself also will assist in "geo tagging," which will aid residents who order items online.
Delivery personnel also will have "no issue with finding the addresses now," Stephens said.