Can’t call 911? Now you can text an emergency

Palm Beach County installs new system

Florida’s 911 systems are getting a 21st-century update: Most residents soon will be able to text their emergency when they need help quickly.

Anyone who is in Palm Beach County with a cellphone can now text 911. The operator will receive their message and phone number, but not their location, so senders need to include their address as they request assistance.

Palm Beach is the 25th of Florida’s 67 counties to install the texting system; Broward and Miami-Dade are scheduled to complete their installations later this year.

The service does not accommodate languages other than English; if a caller texts in a foreign language, the operator will ask the caller to disconnect and call by telephone. A computer program can translate calls into 280 languages, said Daniel Koenig, Palm Beach County’s 911 planning coor- nator.

But texters beware: The system does not accept group chats, emojis or photos, Koenig said.

Palm Beach County’s emergency personnel say they prefer that residents phone 911 if they can, because operators are trained to listen carefully to callers’ voices and surrounding

noises. But in some situations, they say texting will be essential, such as for deaf callers, victims of domestic abuse and home invasions, and victims with injuries that prevent the caller from speaking.

“The message we want to get out is, call if you can, text if you can’t,” said Koenig.

Callers will get immediate text responses, just as they would if they telephoned, he said.

Koenig said the county has been planning for emergency texting for the past seven years, but Florida counties that have already installed their 911 texting systems report few users.

Beth Wagmeister, director of deaf services for Gulfstream Goodwill Industries in West Palm Beach, said her clients have been anxiously awaiting this transition.

In an emergency, they have had to depend on TDDs, or telecommunication devices for the deaf, that transmit their messages over a telephone line installed in their homes.

Now, they will be able to text 911 if they are in a car or out on the street.

“It means so much to the deaf community,” Wagmeister said. “For anyone who can’t speak in an emergency, this is a lifesaver.”