Posted: 4:53 pm MDT July 25, 2011Updated: 9:45 pm MDT July 25, 2011

EL PASO, Texas — Emergency officials in El Paso County said they are spending more time looking for where they are going because address numbers aren’t listed outside homes in the county, but that will now be changing.

“It’s been three years since my son was in an accident, and the ambulance couldn’t find the street, so a lot of time was killed because several streets don’t have names and finally my son died,” said Delia Santos of Montana Vista through a translator.

That problem is more common than some would think.

“I’ve personally observed situations similar to that where I was dispatched to an emergency call and as a consequence we only received a landmark, description of the residence because there wasn’t really as standardized address system,” said Commander Frank Ortez of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

“We gave them the directions, but some streets don’t have names. If you’re from there you know where you’re going, but if you have never been there you can’t find the houses,” said Santos.

Now there is a standardized system for all homes, after El Paso County commissioners approved a proposal from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

“If your house was up to 200 feet back, (the address) would have to be a certain size and of a contrast so that anyone can see it from the road,” said Ortez as an example of what the new requirements are.

The new requirements are something that could have made a difference for Santos, a still grieving mother.

“A lot of houses don’t have the number on the front. That’s the problem,” said Santos.

“There are some areas in the county where the addresses do not run in sequence, and so this would standardize all that and eliminate the problem,” said Ortez.

Ortez said he and his department will be out educating residents on what they need to do, especially since there are a large number of mobile homes in the county.

“They’ll leave a previous address on there, and that is very confusing as well,” he said.

As of Monday, every resident will be responsible to make their address numbers visible or pay up.

“It could be punishable as a class C misdemeanor up to a $500 fine,” said Ortez.

There is a one-year grace period for residents to comply. One issue that was brought up before commissioners’ vote is the lack of street signs in the county. Ortez said they are working with the county’s road and bridge department to make sure those are up.

For a full list of the new standards: http://www.co.el-paso.tx.us/meetings/commcourt/2011-07-25/45.pdf

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