Pearl River County E-911 Addressing Office is on a mission to ensure all citizens have the correct physical address on their home. If a resident feels that their physical address is incorrect, they can call their local E-911 office, in Poplarville (601-403-2202/2205) or Picayune (601-749-7731/7732). How would a resident know if their physical address is incorrect?

The first way is to understand how roads and structures are given address numbers.  An example of this would be, left vs. right. If the road is a dead end road, the numbers increase as you go toward the dead end; even numbers will be on the right and odd numbers will be on the left. All numbers should be in numerical sequence. If you have an address of 68 between the numbers of 54 and 58, then, no doubt, the address is incorrect.

Why is it so important to have correct addresses and why change it now? Even though a resident may have had the same address for 30 years or more, and it is incorrect, then the address still needs to be changed. Pearl River County wants to ensure that if any emergency service discipline is ever needed at that address, they want to get there as fast and efficiently as possible. A resident may add, “Well, the police and ambulance know where I live. They have been out here more than once.” That may be true, but the same emergency responders will not always be there. Police, fire, and EMS personnel change jobs/positions constantly. If a new dispatcher or emergency responder comes on board, they may not be able to locate you if the address is not correct.

Another important issue is, when relocating from one address to another, always contact the local E-911 office to give your new address. This gives the E-911 office the opportunity to ask for personal information such as, how many people live in the household and if there are any medical issues. This information can help first responders during a time of emergency.

Because Pearl River County is the fourth largest county in the state with an area of 810.86 sq. miles and approximately 56,000 citizens, this is going to take more than E-911 addressing personnel; it has to be a team event that includes residents. As the adage goes, “You may know where you are, and God may know where you are, but if your dispatcher doesn’t know where you are, then you and God better be on good terms.”

There is a local E-911 ordinance at the Board of Supervisors office and at the local E-911 office. If you would like to obtain a copy of this ordinance, come by and pick one up. An ordinance can also be emailed to you, if you request it through email. The email address to use for requesting an ordinance is cnelson@pearlrivercounty.net. You may, also go to Pearl River County’s website at www.pearlrivercounty.net, click on E-911 Addressing (left hand column), and obtain information from there.

By Carolyn Nelson

Pearl River County E-911 Director