Lifelong Maine has awarded the Town of New Gloucester a Community Connections Grant for $8,844 for our Fire Rescue Department to purchase and install 911-compliant house numbers across the town. When our emergency responders race to extinguish a fire or help someone with a medical emergency, searching for a home can mean life-threatening delays. Despite the town’s ordinance requiring 911-compliant house numbers, many homes lack visible numbers. Adding to the challenge, New Gloucester has quite a few private roads with haphazard house numbering.
The Economic and Community Development Committee (ECDC) secured this grant pursuant to New Gloucester’s recent designation as an Age-Friendly Community. Residents over 60 years of age comprise 55% of New Gloucester’s population. Approximately 60% of EMS calls are for this age group, and 24% of these calls are to assist with a fall. Lifelong Maine ranked our application highly for its direct benefit to our older residents. They anticipate that New Gloucester’s approach will be a model for many Maine communities facing the same problem – “We can’t help you if we can’t find you.”
Please welcome our Fire Rescue crews when they stop by to provide and help install your address numbers. For more information, contact Deputy Fire Chief Hale Fitzgerald at 926-4142. This service is free for all residents.
– Connie Justice, Chair, ECDC
