Texting 911 Option Expanded For Southwestern Pa. Residents
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Texting 911 during an emergency is now easier for all residents in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Allegheny County residents have been able to text 911 since 2014, but, before this year, that was not an option when county residents traveled to other counties.
Now, anyone with a working wireless cellphone in Southwestern Pennsylvania can text 911.
Being able to text first responders in an emergency can be especially helpful for situations when speaking over the phone might be dangerous.
While operators can receive text messages, they cannot see pictures, videos, or audio recordings, according to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Emergency Response Regional Task Force.
People texting will need to tell 911:
- the address of the emergency
- what kind of help they need (police, firefighters, medics)
- any additional information operators need
People cannot text 911 from a deactivated phone, if their phone service is roaming, or if they have a wireless carrier that is not supported by the system.
Texters that have messages that do not go through will get an automatic bounce-back message telling them to contact 911 through other means.