House numbers are coming to rural properties in the Virden area.
This summer, the RM of Wallace Woodworth will install address number signs at laneways in the municipality.
The reflective signs will make it easier for emergency responders, utility crews and delivery services to find their destinations faster.
Wallace-Woodworth's Assistant CAO Shawna Paulsen said the contractors will also be entering the location of each sign into a GPS system which will then be synced with emergency responders’ GPS systems.
Boon for responders
Fire Chief Brad Yochim says the combination of address numbers and GPS coordinates will make a big difference.
“We’ll know the exact right location for fire calls. And with GPS, we can just punch the numbers into our computers. That would be the ultimate for everybody.”
Smoke signals
Previously, firefighters had to rely on clues like section numbers (eg: SW 25-9-25W), road names (Road 64N), “one of the guys knowing where the caller lives,” or just following the smoke.
Yochim says he thinks medical responders will benefit even more than firefighters from the house numbers because they don’t have clues like smoke and flames to guide them to a call.
Under the civic addressing program, properties will have an address that looks like this:
10080 Road 64N
When callers report an emergency, they’ll be asked to provide both their property number and the name of the road.
Coming soon
The contractor for the RM of Wallace-Woodworth is scheduled to start erecting the signs June 23 and complete the task over the summer.
CAO Garth Mitchell says the cost to the RM is close to $60,000 not including Elkhorn and Kenton, which were already numbered.
He added the signage is, “being done to the Manitoba Standard so in the future it will benefit all responders to locate properties.
“This is the direction that the entire province is well on its way to.”
Here is the status of rural addressing in neighbouring RMs:
Rm of Pipestone: System installed in 2016, is operational.
RM of Prairie View: Address signs installed last fall. RM waiting for MTS/Bell to enter the numbers into the 911 system to be functional.
RM of Sifton: No rural civic addresses. Council plans to discuss at a future meeting.
