Resident tells council first responders had trouble finding her apartment; police say they are training and fixing dispatch data

A Zion resident, Denise Lader, told the council on July 7 that on two occasions first responders were delayed because crews and dispatch could not find her apartment building. Lader said her posted address and the building entrance differ (she cited an address on DAPA and a corner on 18th), and she asked the city to correct address listings so emergency responders can locate callers more quickly.

Chief Street (the police chief present at the meeting) acknowledged Lader’s reports and said the incidents were used as training moments for crews. The chief said some addresses in the municipality face one street but are listed with a different street name, creating confusion, and that shift commanders are working with personnel to train on those tricky addresses. Chief Street also said the police have no problem locating some residences because officers are often in the area, but agreed the concern is valid for external responders and new staff.

Separately, Chief Barton reported that the department issued multiple citations related to illegal fireworks over the holiday weekend and noted a limitation in the department’s RMS search or data‑extraction functionality that staff will address with the vendor. The chiefs said they are coordinating with dispatch and vendors to improve data and search capabilities so that address lookups are more reliable.

The mayor thanked staff for follow‑up and said the city will use the concerns raised to make operational fixes. The transcript does not record a specific timeline for corrections to the city’s address listings or dispatch database, only that crews are training and staff will work with dispatch to resolve the problem.