The Fire Department was recently dispatched to a 911 call. During this call, the crew had a difficult time determining which house the emergency was at because many houses in Fort Madison do not have address numbers on them. This creates a serious delay in emergency response as the crew has to go door to door at times to find the emergency call.
For this reason, Fort Madison requires all structures to have address numbers posted on the building.
The following is City Code requiring all structures to have addresses legibly posted:
City Code 8-6-5: NUMBERS TO BE CONSPICUOUS: The number may be made of metal, wood or glass or may be painted on pieces of tin not less than two inches (2") wide by three inches (3") long, and shall be nailed to the first story or in front of the buildings, or painted on the front door, post, or transom of the building. Every owner is required to place a suitable number on every dwelling fronting on a street or avenue. (Ord. A-3, 12-28-53)
City Code 6-4-1 B20: deems buildings, upon which the address has not been legally posted; as nuisances. Both municipal infractions and simple misdemeanors can be issued.
At this time the City intends to treat this similar to other nuisances issued.
Upon hanging of a door hanger, you will be given no less than 15 days to install address numbers on the building. If this is not completed within this time, the City will publish the nuisance violation in the paper including property owners name and address which constitutes the City’s legal obligation for notification of nuisance notice. At that time a letter will also be sent to the owner of record. Upon publication, you will be given another 15 days to install numbers on the building. If the numbers still have not been installed on the building after the deadline, the City will be legally able to install the numbers on the building at the owners expense.
Current contractor rate is $50 minimum per job, plus associated City administrative fees.