Text 911 when calling isn’t an option in Spokane County

Starting today, Spokane County residents can reach 911 with a text message. County officials announced they recently completed testing of the service, which is intended for use in emergency situations where someone can’t safely place a phone call, like a home invasion, and for those who have hearing or speech disabilities. Customers with data plans from Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint now can send a text message in an emergency. Anyone with questions about the availability of the service should contact their carriers directly and should not send “test” messages to 911, a county news release said. It said that dialing 911 is still the preferred and most effective way to request emergency services. Text-to-911 service is not available statewide. County officials gave these tips for safely utilizing the service:

Text only for emergencies, not for convenience.

Your first message should be the location of the emergency and the type of help needed (police, fire or medical)

Text in simple words – do not use abbreviations or emoticons.

Keep your text messages brief and concise.

Be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions.

Photos and videos can’t be sent to 911 at this time.

Just like regular text messages, 911 messages can take longer to receive, get out of order or may not be received at all.

911 texting will not work while roaming.

A data or texting plan is required.

Location information with a text is not equal to calling 911 at this time.

Non-English translation is not available.