Emergency dispatchers in the Greater Kansas City area will now receive and respond to emergency 911 text messages.
According to a news release from the Mid-America Regional Council, text to 911 service can provide a life-saving option for people in situations where they cannot speak safely, such as a home invasions or active shooter incidents, and for those who are deaf, hard of hearing or have difficulty speaking.
Voice calls are still preferred, and the public is asked to call when they can, text when they can’t.
“After nearly a year of testing and training, and a lot of work on the part of our wireless phone carriers, we’re pleased to offer the public another option to call for help when they need,” said Keith Faddis, public safety program director for the Mid-America Regional Council. “Voice calls are still the best way to contact 911, but having the ability to text 911 could be the difference that saves a life.”
Local officials caution that, like any new technology, there may be some challenges with texts to 911. “We’ve successfully tested the system, but we still expect to encounter some unexpected situations and continue to learn from them after the system goes live,” said Faddis.
The Regional 911 System includes public safety answering points in Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri and Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. All four major cell phone companies in the region — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon — now offer text to 911 service to their wireless customers.
Although all public safety answering points use the same technology, they also have unique characteristics that may affect the success rate of texting to 911.
In Kansas City, Mo., for example, call centers typically experience a higher call volume and there are more high-rise buildings. For these reasons, city officials encourage Kansas City, Mo., residents who need emergency services to call 911 while testing continues. Other cities may have certain areas where cell signals are weak.
“Many of us have experienced times when we send a text and it doesn’t go through,” Faddis said. “Texts to 911 are no different. If you don’t get a response or if you get a bounce-back message, call 911 instead.”
In order to text to 911, a person must have a text plan, and a phone or device capable of sending a text. There are some known limitations. Texts to 911 are treated like any other text, and subject to the same service speeds or delays. Multimedia or MMS messages — those that include photos, video, emoticons, or are sent to more than one recipient — will not go through.
Public safety officials urge residents to remember that calling 911 is always preferred. Voice calls allow 911 dispatchers to gather more information more quickly in an emergency. Unlike phone calls, text messages do not provide the senders exact location, and the service is not available when roaming. If text to 911 is not available, callers will receive a bounce-back message saying the service is not available and to make a voice call to 911.
A spokesman outlined some guidelines in sending emergency texts to 911.
When it is necessary to send a text to 911, callers should remember these do’s and don’ts:
• Enter the phone number 911, with no dashes, in the recipient field.
• Provide your address or location and the type of help you need — police, fire or ambulance.
• Be brief, but don’t use abbreviations or slang. Texts to 911 have the same 160-character limit as other text messages.
• Watch for a reply text from the 911 call center, and answer questions or follow instructions from the dispatcher.
• Use English. Translation services are not yet available for text messages to 911.
• Don’t use emoticons, and don’t send photos or video.
• Don’t copy others on a text to 911.
