TEXT-TO-911
General
3 Minutes
Deaf/Hard of Hearing
3 Minutes
The Allen County 911 Communications Center in conjunction with the Kansas 911 Coordinating Council are excited to announce the availability of Text-to-911 during an emergency. Text-to-911 service will be available starting November 2, 2017 for those individuals who cannot safely make a voice call to 911 in an emergency. This will be a valuable service to the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Testing for Text-to-911 has been completed in Allen County and is available with plans from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular & Verizon Wireless. Although Text-to-911 is available in many communities it is not available in the whole state of Kansas. If a text is made to 911 where that service is not available, a message will be sent back to the phone advising the customer to make a voice call.
Some situations when Text-to-911 is appropriate:
• Deaf, hard of hearing callers, or individuals with a speech disability
• A caller who is unable to speak due to a medical or other condition
• Emergency situations that would put the caller in danger if making a voice call
• Examples include abduction, domestic violence or active shooter situation.
When texting to 911, follow these guidelines
• Provide your exact address or location.
Explain the type of emergency or help that is being requested
• Be prepared to answer any questions that the 911 telecommunicator texts back.
• Use plain language; do not use abbreviations, symbols, emoticons, or photos. Messages should be brief and concise