June 23, 2024
By:
The DeKalb County Emergency Communications District (911) has announced that effective July 1 2024 it will begin accepting text–to–9-1-1 service for DeKalb County citizens.
According to DeKalb 911 Director Brad Mullinax, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile Wireless customers will be able to send a text (up to 140 characters) to 9-1-1 in an emergency. Text to 9-1-1 should only be used in an emergency situation, when placing a call is not possible: For instance, if the caller is deaf, hard-of-hearing, speech impaired, or when speaking out loud would put the caller in danger. “At DeKalb 911, we are excited to offer this new service to the community. The local 911 district and the state 911 board have invested millions of dollars to make this service available,” said Mulinax.
If there is an emergency and you are unable to make a call, remember these steps:
· Don’t text and drive
· In the first text message send the location and type of emergency.
· Text in simple words – Send a short text message in English without abbreviations or slang.
· Be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from the 9-1-1 call taker.
Don’t Abuse 9-1-1—Text-to-9-1-1 service is ONLY for emergencies.
· It is a crime to text or call 9-1-1 with a false report. Prank-texters can be located.
The Text-to-9-1-1 service may have many challenges.
· A text or data plan is required to place a Text-to-9-1-1
· 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.
· If you do not receive a text response from 9-1-1, try to contact 9-1-1 another way.
· Photos and videos cannot be sent to 9-1-1 at this time.
· Text-to-9-1-1 cannot include more than one person. Do not send your emergency text to anyone other than 9-1-1.
· Voice Calls to 9-1-1 Are Still the Best and Fastest Way to Contact 9-1-1
Remember, Text-to-9-1-1 service is not available everywhere in Tennessee and the U.S. Many TN 911 districts have not gone live with Text-to-9-1-1 service at this time, so if you are outside the DeKalb County area the service may not be available.