In an effort to improve emergency response times, Orange County’s Information Technologies and Emergency Services Department are working to update addresses for better service in case of an emergency.

Steve Averett, Geographic Information Systems manager for Orange County, says his department is working closely with law enforcement, fire and medical departments to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Since 1999, Orange County has worked to establish an address database for all emergency departments to use.  In April of 2004, Orange County awarded a contract to a group who specializes in address verification to confirm all physical addresses and streets located in Orange County.  Once the work was completed in 2006, it was determined that more than 2,600 locations needed to be readdressed.

Orange County is currently working with municipalities to adopt an addressing ordinance that would cover the entire county.  However, Orange County Commissioner Alice Gordon says this slow-moving process makes residents vulnerable in case of an emergency.

Steve Averett says Orange County’s work is the first and only example of this type of cross-Jurisdictional efforts within the State of North Carolina.