POMEROY — About 4,000 houses in Meigs County are not properly identified with house numbers which can slow the time in which 9-1-1 personnel can reach the location of an emergency.

That was the result of a study done by Digital Data Technology (DDT) and presented to the 9-1-1 committee and county officials at a meeting this week.

Doug Lavender, director of EMS and 9-1-1, said that the study involved DDT personnel driving all around the county and up every road in an effort to determine how many of the approximately 18,500 structures had visible house numbers and how many did not.

The extensive study by DDT was the project of Meigs County Engineer, 9-1-1 Agency, and the Meigs County mapping office with the $150,000 study cost being paid for with grant funds and a local contribution of $18,500 provided by the highway department and 9-1-1. Lavender said the state 9-1-1 agency has encouraged areas to pursue digitalized maps on house numbering.

He said groupings of mail boxes with numbers on them located at the end of a lane does not provide sufficient information for emergency personnel trying to locate someone, that the numbers need to be on the houses.

The EMS director said that while there is no penalty for not having a number on a house, there is a decided advantage to having one there since because otherwise it could delay the time it takes emergency personnel to get there and provide whatever help is needed.

Copies of the DDT study are available for viewing at the Meigs County mapping office, at the 9-1-1 office, and in the county engineer’s office.

As for the house numbers, Lavender said reflective ones are preferred because they are easier to see at night.