Address mix-ups can end up tragic

Brad Flory | By Brad Flory | The Jackson Citizen Patriot
on May 13, 2008 at 9:27 AM

Three or four times a year, my mail goes to a similar-sounding address.

Big deal? Maybe it is.

People like me should remember what happened to Ralph and Bernice Davis in Napoleon. It was all recorded on the 911 tapes of Feb. 3, 1996.

"I'm calling for the Napoleon Township Fire Department," a 911 dispatcher told a Consumers Energy operator. "They're requesting someone to come out and investigate a natural-gas odor at their location."

"OK. Where is that?" the operator asked.

"One-twenty Austin," the dispatcher answered. "One-two-zero Austin."

Consumers' operator punched up a computer that spit out records for 120 Austin Ave. in Jackson instead of 120 Austin Road in Napoleon.

A utility crew sent to Jackson found no gas leak.

Thirty minutes later, the explosion in Napoleon tore the Davis home to shreds. Bernice, 70, died instantly. Ralph, 77, died the next day.

No one did anything evil. It was just a mix-up.

The dispatcher said one thing but the Consumers operator heard something different. Anyone ever confused by directions from a friend knows how that works.

Jackson County had another mix-up last week, with less tragic results.

A man injured by a chain saw near Sweezey Lake waited 30 minutes for help because rescue crews were sent to a similar address on Wamplers Lake.

Confusion like this cannot be easily eliminated.

Five hundred streets in Jackson County have names similar or identical to other streets, said Scott Ambs, county director of geographic information systems.

"People are human," Ambs said. "All it takes is a key-punch error and things are screwed up."

Map-based programs to be implemented in the fall should more precisely pinpoint the location of calls to 911, Ambs said.

But technology alone cannot eliminate mix-ups.

A committee of county officials is attacking the problem by pressing to eliminate duplicate addresses. It makes sense.

Napoleon can have Austin Road and Jackson can have Austin Avenue, but only one of them should be allowed to use 120 as an address number.

People grow attached to their street names and house numbers. We like to fight any changes.

Here's a tip to keep perspective: Imagine instead of mail going to the wrong address, it happens to people who would prevent you from being blown to bits as you watch TV.

Losing a house number sounds trivial after remembering what the Davis family lost.