Your help is needed to reduce Emergency Response Delays

Local fire department and law enforcement personnel and medical first responders are requesting the public’s assistance to reduce 911 response times in the coming weeks.

The high volume of snow that Cook County has received this winter has created challenges for first responders who are called out to assist the public. Snowbanks along county roads have obscured the blue roadside address signs that fire, sheriff, and ambulance personnel use to locate homes and businesses, and drivers of emergency response vehicles have had trouble accessing properties due to unplowed or insufficiently plowed driveways.

You can help by taking the following steps:

If you have a blue fire number, please clear the sign and around it, so it can easily be read from both directions on your road.

Similarly, if you live in town and you have a number on your house, please make certain it is clear of snow and is legible from either direction on the street.

Please clear your driveway, sidewalks, and entryways so that emergency vehicles, first responders, and equipment have access to your residence.

We are all running out of room for the snow. In some situations, plowing contractors may need to come in with a skid steer or other equipment to move banks and piles. If you have a neighbor who needs help clearing the driveway, please consider lending a hand.

Thank you for your efforts and cooperation to keep our community safe!

Contacts: Emergency Management Director Mike Keyport mike.keyport@ co.cook.mn.us, 218-387-3059 or Sheriff Pat Eliasen pat.eliasen@co.cook.mn.us, 218-387-3030.