Operation Find Fast

Can police or fire-rescue personnel see your house number?

Your safety could depend on it.

Operation Find Fast is a public awareness campaign highlighting the need for proper address display at homes and businesses.

Remember, if emergency responders can't find you, they can't help you. And that could be a matter of life or death.

Your Address is Not Just for Mail Delivery

When you dial 911 from a land line, your home or business address is displayed to emergency call center personnel. This allows emergency responders to be dispatched even if you are unable to provide a location.

When police or fire-rescue workers get to your location, however, they rely upon a clearly visible, large, unobstructed address display to find the right house or business.

Posting Your House or Business Number

House numbers should be at least 4 inches high.
Business numbers must be at least 6 inches high.
Numbers must contrast with the immediate background, such as black on white or white on black.
The numbers cannot be covered by trees, shrubbery or other obstructions. The same is true for street signage.


There's a prowler outside, your child is choking or your house is on fire. Which address display gets help to you faster?

When Your Address Changes

When you move, it's natural to think of changing your address with the U.S. Postal Service. However, that's just the beginning. You must also change your address with other service providers so they can find you.

The same holds true with address changes initiated by the City of Jacksonville. The city's Planning Department is changing addresses in some areas of the city to avoid duplication of street names that has resulted from rapid growth. Even if the address change is initiated by the city, you are responsible for notifying the organizations listed below.

Bellsouth 1-888-757-6500 or your phone service provider

Comcast 1-800-266-2278 or your cable television provider
JEA 904-665-6000
Voter Registration 904-630-1410
Motor Vehicle Tag 904-630-1916
Drivers Licenses 904-858-6941
City of Jacksonville Planning Department 904-630-1900 or by e-mail

Street Signage

Call 630-CITY to report a damaged, overgrown,
incorrect or missing street sign.

Street signs cleaned of vegetation. Street signs covered with vegetation.

The overgrown sign on the left is not just hard to see, it's a safety hazard. Firefighters, police and EMTs rely upon street signs to respond to 911 or other dispatches.

If you see a damaged, overgrown, incorrect or missing street sign, help your neighbors – call 630-CITY.

Cell Phones and 911 Service

Cell phones can be an important public safety tool, but current technology doesn't guarantee that a 911 dispatcher can pinpoint a cell phone's location. At this time, 911 operators must still communicate verbally with the cell phone caller to determine his or her specific location.

It is possible to identify a particular cell tower that's carrying a 911 call, but that information is not specific enough for emergency responders to quickly find you and deliver service.

Click here to read consumer information from the Federal Communications Commission about 911 and cell phones.

Operation Find Fast on TV

Operation Find Fast TV spots are spreading the basic message:

If emergency responders can't find you, they can't help you.

Filming Firefighters

One spot portrays the challenges emergency responders face when searching for a house or business address; the other incorporates youngsters who demonstrate that playing hide and seek with your address number is no safe game.

Firefighters and kids

More information about public safety