Verizon Wireless customers in James City County have joined their counterparts in York County and Williamsburg in being able to receive 911 text messages.
The service allows Verizon customers to text for help when they are unable to call. The service is available to any Verizon customer within range of a cell tower located in the county.
“James City County is pleased to join York County, Poquoson and the City of Williamsburg in implementing ‘Text to 911’ to further enhance our capability to provide prompt and efficient response times to our citizens in emergency situations,” County Emergency Communications Director Julie McKercher said in a news release. “I congratulate our emergency communications staff and regional team members in successfully implementing this service for the benefit of all citizens both within and surrounding James City County.”
York County rolled out a Text to 911 service in December, making it one of the first localities in the nation to accept emergency text messages. James City and York counties already work together to provide many emergency services — including linked call centers and a microwave communication network — so the move will allow York 911 operators who handle James City County calls to also receive text messages.
The release identified two particular scenarios the service is intended for: people who are hearing impaired and those unable to make a voice call due to factors like a medical emergency, home invasion or abduction. Customers are encouraged to only use the texting option when calling 911 is not an option.
“Verizon Wireless has been at the forefront of working with public safety stakeholders to bring text to 911 to our customers,” Marquett Smith, the Region President for Verizon Wireless said in the release. “Our SMS911 National Gateway enables us to bring reliable emergency communications to [call centers] across the country. We were proud to work alongside the team in York County and TeleCommunications Systems Inc. to deploy this new solution.”
James City County offered the following tips to people who might need to use the service:
- Customers should use the texting option only when calling 911 is not an option.
- Using a phone to call 911 is still the most efficient way to reach emergency help. Texting is not always instantaneous, which is critical during a life-threatening emergency. It may take slightly longer to dispatch emergency services in a text to 911 situation because of the time involved: someone must enter the text, the message must go over the network and the 911 telecommunicator must read the text and then text back.
- Providing location information and nature of the emergency in the first text message is imperative, as the County’s Emergency Communications Center will receive only an approximate location of the cell phone and will not be able to speak with the person sending the text. Text abbreviations or slang should never be used so the intent of the dialogue can be as clear as possible.
- Customers must be in range of cell towers in the James City County area. If customers are outside or near the edge of the County, the message may not reach the Emergency Communications Center.
- Texts sent to 911 have the same 160-character limit as other text messages.
- Verizon Wireless customers who use Usage Controls should remove the Usage Controls feature to ensure full text to 911 capability.
- Verizon Wireless customers must have mobile phones that are capable of sending text messages. Any text message to 911 will count either against their messaging bundle or be charged at 20 cents each. Customers on ShareEverything plans have unlimited texts as part of their plans, including text to 911.
- The solution is available for customers who use the SMS provided by Verizon Wireless. It is not available for third-party text messaging applications that can be downloaded to the phone or for applications that do not use SMS technology.
- The texting function should only be used for emergency situations that require an immediate response from police, fire or emergency medical services. Non-emergency issues should still be communicated to the James City County Emergency Communication Center through its non-emergency line at 757-566-0112.
