New Montco Service Allows Texting to 9-1-1

Montgomery County residents can now contact 9-1-1 via a short text message, according to an announcement from officials on Monday.

The new “text-to-9-1-1” service – provided in Montgomery County by wireless carriers AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile – is designed help those who are unable to speak in addition to victims in situations in which speaking would put them in danger, as well as the deaf, hard of hearing and the speech impaired.

“The safety of our residents is the most important responsibility we have,” said Josh Shapiro, chairman of the Montgomery County commissioners, in a statement released Monday. “We are pleased to offer this latest advancement in 9-1-1 technology and we are committed to providing additional improvements as they become available.”

Commissioner Val Arkoosh added that “while text to 9-1-1 is an important tool for certain segments of the population, it certainly is not as efficient as a voice 9-1-1 call.

“The phrase ‘call when you can, text when you must,’ is a good guide.”

While officials championed the new initiative as a valuable tool in helping to protect victims, particularly those who have suffered under domestic abuse, the service has several limitations.

Here are some tips and facts from the county to keep in mind:

• Only use text to 9-1-1 in an emergency and when you are unable to make a voice call.
• Know your location – text your exact location.
• Text what you need – text what emergency help is needed.
• Be clear – send a short text message without abbreviations or slang.
• Stay calm – answer questions and follow instructions from the 9-1-1 call taker.
• As with all text messages, messages to 9-1-1 may take longer to receive, may get out of order, or may not be received at all.
• 9-1-1 call takers will not be able to hear any background noise that could help with assisting during the emergency.
• Voice calls are real-time communication and text-to-9-1-1 has a delay.
• A text-to-9-1-1 message that hits a cellular tower outside Montgomery County will either go to that other county’s 9-1-1 center or, if text-to-9-1-1 is not available there, the caller will receive a bounce-back message saying the service is not available and to contact 9- 1-1 by other means.

For more information the service, visit the county’s website at montcopa.org/text-to-911.