EMERGENCY? TEXTING 911 IS NOT FAR OFF FOR COUNTY
Palm Beach County to add technology which helps deaf, those in situations where they can’t speak.
WEST PALM BEACH— Typing a string of text messages on a cellphone, Palm Beach County 911 director Chuck Spalding silently issued a plea for help.
At a computer in the Emergency Operations Center, 911 planning coordinator Dan Koenig responded, collecting information about Spalding’s location and the nature of the emergency.
It was only a test, but the scenario is one that will soon be real for Palm Beach County residents.
The cou nty is installing a text-to-911 system, allowing residents in need of assistance to communicate with dispatchers through text messages — with their thumbs instead of their tongues.
Officials anticipate that the system will launch in June, with Palm Beach County joining 25 other Florida counties where the system is in operation. It is in use in St. Lucie County, with Martin, Broward and Miami-Dade also expected to have the technology this year.
Among the largest counties now using the technology are Duval, Orange and Osceola. Several counties along the Gulf coast south of Tampa have it as well.
Palm Beach County will spend about $269,000 to install the text system, with an anticipated annual cost of $97,000 to maintain. Its existing system already handles between 1 million and 1.2 million phone calls a year, officials said.
All it will take to connect with a dispatcher is to text 911. Authorities warn that misuse of the text system is illegal and will result in arrest, just as people who abuse the 911 telephone system face.
Officials say people who are either deaf or who have problems with their hearing will benefit the most.
County residents who are deaf “have the TDDs at their homes but, once they’re mobile, they really have no contact with emergency services,” Koenig said. “So this allows them to be more mobile and have the emergency services available to them when needed.”
People experiencing a medical issue that prevents them from speaking, or who are in situations where speaking may not be safe, also will be able to communicate with a dispatcher through written words instead of spoken ones.
Dispatchers in Orange County have received 15 to 20 text messages since the system launched there on March 20, Fire Rescue Division Chief Kimberly Stewart-Horan said Thursday.
In one instance, she said, a woman in the Apopka area hid in a closet and communicated with dispatchers through text messages as someone tried to break into her home.
Stewart-Horan said such situations are “the epitome outside of the deaf community of why we have this” technology.
St. Lucie County first introduced its text-to-911 system in June 2016. Since then, the county has averaged 82 text messages to its 911 call center each year, although not all of those have been for actual emergencies, said Division Director Tiffany Bennett for St. Lucie County Public Safety.
Officials in each county cautioned that those experiencing an emergency should still call 911 whenever possible.
“There are definite limitations from a text call (compared) to a voice call,” Koenig said. “Obviously, preferable is going to be a voice call, if available. Most people do prefer the voice call because there’s immediate feedback.”
The texting system is set up to use SMS (Short Message Service) technology and will not accept photographs or videos.
It also rejects emojis. In fact, tacking an emoji onto a message will disconnect communication with a dispatcher.
And because language interpretation is unavailable, the system is only set up to accommodate English speakers, Spalding said. It won’t be able to handle Spanish, Creole or other languages until the telephone carriers adapt their systems to make that happen.
Officials say providing the location of the emergency is the most important piece of information. Telephone calls to 911 can establish that with greater clarity.
“As a general rule, the first (response from a dispatcher) is going to be, ‘Where is your emergency?’ ” Koenig said. “After that, ‘What is your emergency?’ People may say, ‘Are you able to make a voice call?’ Because we still want to (say) to people that if they can make voice call, please do.”