Text to 911 is now available in Benton, Franklin counties
By Terry Murry on Friday, September 16th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
RICHLAND, WA – Text to 911 is now available in Benton and Franklin Counties through the Southeast Communications Center. Callers in the area can now send a text message to 911 in an emergency. This service officially launched on Sept. 11.
Text to 911 provides another method of contact for the deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired persons. In addition, it will assist those who are concerned about alerting others they are calling 911 such as in a home invasion, when in close proximity to an abusive partner, or if the caller is in a location where cell phone coverage is unreliable. While Text to 911 is available, the preferred method for those who can speak, is to call.
If texting, enter the location and type of the emergency, keep text messages brief, refrain from using emojis, slang, or special characters, and stay with the phone to follow instructions from dispatchers.
“Text to 911 is a capability that has been encouraged by the Federal Communications Commission and has been implemented successfully in other regions in Washington State,” Richland Assistant City Manager Drew Florence said. “There are several components to successfully implementing this important resource and we appreciate all of our partner agencies, wireless carriers, and SECOMM staff who have made it possible for our community.”
Text to 911 is already available in Umatilla, Morrow, Walla Walla, and Yakima counties.Photo via Southeast Communications Center
