VIDEO: Winston County Addresses Update

WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – What’s in a number can be the difference between life and death.

That’s why Winston County emergency services are urging residents to change their address ASAP.

Winston County is going district-wide with an address update.

Change is on the way for residents in Winston County.

“This month started an address change. It’s going to a system of addresses, where we can identify a, pretty good, location just by the numbers, without a street name on an address,”said Winston County EMA Director Buddy King.

In an effort to improve emergency services, Winston County is asking for the community’s help.

“We can have the best Sheriff’s response, we can have the best EMS response. The thing we can’t buy is time, is to be able to find your house. What we need from Winston County is for our residents to go out and put four inch reflective numbering on both sides their mail box so we can find them when they need us,”said King.

” A deputy car is coming down the road. Obviously we’re in a hurry to where we need to be. We want to get there and deal with whatever’s going on, as quickly as possible. You want to trust your technology in you’re vehicle to tell you, your there, turn right. But when you’ve got multiple addresses, you’re not seeing what it is you need to see. I’m slowing down to try to get to you, when I need to be getting to you,”said Winston County Sheriff Jason Pugh.

The county has updated addresses in the past with little success but King says this system is designed to be more effective if the community gets on board.

“We have people that have raised families and generations in a home. They’ve gone through about three or four address changes in the last 40, 50 years. Well, this one is permanent. This is the one. This is the one that will be with us from now on. It’s off GPS, it’s off satellite we can find you if you’ll put that address on your mailbox,”said King.

February 28th will be the last day that the old address has any value to the Winston County emergency response system.