The Peru Gazette

Peru Fire Chief Kevin O’Neil

Peru – If your child or anyone in your home is facing a medical emergency, you undoubtedly expect a rapid response from rescue personnel. Unfortunately, many Peru homeowners do not properly identify their homes, a failure that could result in loss of life. Peru’s fire and ambulance personnel have been delayed in arriving at several emergency situations.

Peru Fire Chief Kevin O’Neil explained, “The problem exists throughout the town. Sometimes when we respond to an emergency we drive by a home more than once. Then we have to find a place to turn around and that’s difficult for a large fire truck or an ambulance, especially at night.” O’Neil noted that some people assume that everyone knows where they live. He stated, “We have many new, young personnel. They don’t know where everyone lives. They rely on a structure being properly identified.”

According to Peru Code Enforcement Officer Bob Guynup New York State fire codes require that the address identification be legible and placed in a position that is visible from the street or road fronting the property. The identification characters should contrast with the background and shall be Arabic numbers or alphabetic letters. Numbers shall not be spelled out. Each character shall not be less than 4 inches high. Where access is by means of a private road and the building cannot be viewed from the public way, a monument, pole or other sign or means shall be used to identify the structure.

Peru firefighters have one answer to the premise identification problem. For only $15 they will prepare a two-sided, reflective sign for you. It’s two-sided because under the mutual aid system emergency personnel may arrive at your home from any given direction. To order a sign just contact any Peru firefighter or stop by the station on a Monday evening.