UNA Police Chief Bob Pastula is currently working with UNA 911, the university’s dispatch service, to implement new building addresses to each building on campus.

Pastula believes the plan will be implemented by Florence City Police Dispatch sometime this week, he said.

The implementation of new building addresses comes as a part of the comprehensive emergency operation plan the university has to ensure safety at UNA, Pastula said.

The plan came about after fire inspectors obtained a list of building addresses that were not consistent with the list the 911 dispatchers had, Pastula said.

“We’re going to reassign building addresses to ensure the responders can efficiently locate a building and get someone the help they need quicker,” he said.

Senior Tim LeVan said if it makes it easier for the fire department to respond to a situation at a building then he is all for it.

“The emergency respondents can know where to go if we say Floyd, the music building, etc. instead of giving a specific (street) address,” LeVan said.

Implementing the new building addresses will also not require any funding, Pastula said.

“This new plan will ensure we get the right help to the right place,” he said. “The new building numbers will map out an efficient route to ensure quicker response time.”

Lisa Brown, administrative assistant for Florence’s 911, said the difficulty of responding at UNA is the fact the addresses are assigned to sidewalks.

“This new plan will just make it to where fire trucks can get to specific locations to help,” Brown said.

Pastula has been working with the UNA 911 center to get the new system operational, she said.

“It’s just a matter of getting the technicalities together,” she said.

Senior Brent Barnes said he has always wondered why each building does not have its own address.

“If dispatch has a way to communicate quickly the location of an emergency that could buy some valuable time,” he said. “I suppose if they were to keep access routes consistent with their building designations, the university could plan accordingly to keep other university activities functioning with minimal interruption.”

This plan has been a combination of efforts between the university, the building department and the fire department, said UNA 911 Director George Graybryan.

“Campus has changed substantially and establishing new building addresses will help us to catch up with the geographical transformations,” he said.

Students will be able to benefit from this tremendously, Graybryan said.

“For those in an emergency, you may know what building you’re in but may not know the address,” he said. “Now you can just say you’re in Wesleyan Hall and responders can pull up the best route to get there quickly.”