Ill. County Launches 9-1-1 Texting Service

Oct. 21--Will County residents can now dial 911 and let their fingers do the talking.

Those in need of emergency services who are hearing impaired or not in a position to speak can send a text to all 911 dispatchers in the county.

"911: Call if you can, text if you can't" is the new message being sent throughout Will County, which is now among the 5 percent of 911 systems in the country providing this service.

Only 360 of about 6,100 emergency call centers in the United States provide text-to-911 service, according to Steve Figved, Will County 911's chief administrator.

Will County also is among the first in the Chicago area to offer this option. It has been available at Northwest Central Dispatch, which includes Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg.

Figved said the texting option is aimed at people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired and also will benefit those callers who are unable to speak, such as when doing so would put the caller in danger.

For now, only cellphone users who are served by the four major carriers -- Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile -- will be able to text 911, and the texting will only work within Will County. Dispatchers will type questions and answers in response.

"It's really exciting that 911 service is now available to everyone," said Caryn DeMarco, public education manager for Will County's 911 system.

"This (911 texting) could be a lifesaver," DeMarco said, adding that voice calls are still the best and fastest way to contact 911. "Text only if you cannot get through by voice."

If the text message cannot go through, it will bounce back and inform the caller that the text message was not delivered, she said.

She said the capability of texting to 911 is growing across the country as 911 centers can afford it.

The cost of providing the new technology was "minimal," Figved said, adding that establishing an Internet connection, filing paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission and conducting the public education campaign cost only about $2,000.

Figved said texting will only be a small percentage of the county's 911 calls, but it's a critical option to offer.

"We've been looking at this for a couple of years. We made a commitment to the hearing-impaired community," he said.

His staff has launched the public education campaign in assisted-living communities and will next take it into the schools, he said

Figved said that, similar to fake 911 calls, pranksters who send a false 911 text can be traced and will be prosecuted.

More information on Will County's 911 system and can be found at www.willcounty9-1-1.com

slafferty@tribpub.com

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