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RAPID nationwide system of numbering rural properties
RAPID nationwide system of numbering rural properties
The RAPID number is, in effect, the street address for a rural property with a dwelling. The numbers are based on a distance along the road from a designated point at the start of the road.
Any access point from the road onto a property may have a RAPID number.
Marlborough Kaikoura Principal Rural Fire Officer Richard McNamara is appealing to rural property owners to make sure they have a RAPID number at their gateway and that it is clearly visible to emergency services.
“These numbers are not just for rural mail; our fire tenders might be relying on the number at your gatepost to reach your house before fire takes control. Every minute counts with fire and the last thing we want to do in an emergency is head up the wrong driveway,” says Mr McNamara.
With the increasing density of rural dwellings, and more shared driveways, it’s even more important to be able to identify access to properties quickly, he said.
For safety’s sake, rural property owners with multiple dwellings on their property should consider whether more than one RAPID number is needed.
“For example, on a very large property a farmhouse may have a RAPID number but if there are also three distant farm cottages, each with its own entrance from the road, there’s potential for delay if they don’t have their own number identification,” said Mr McNamara.
RAPID numbers are particularly important when emergency services are dispatched from a centralised base in Christchurch where the dispatchers are not personally familiar with local names and places.
As well as fire, police and ambulance, telephone and power suppliers and an increasing number of other services also rely on RAPID numbers to locate properties.
The Marlborough District Council register of RAPID numbers is updated regularly for emergency services and other agencies.
Property owners are encouraged to make contact with the Council to apply for their individual number. The application forms are also available on the Council’s website
The fee is $57 per new number, which covers the cost of measuring and recording property details and supplying the numbered plate. Where a group of properties share one driveway, the Council will supply a plate showing the range of numbers free of charge. There is a small charge for replacement plates.
ENDS.
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