Text-to-911, a new service within the Kenai Peninsula Borough, becomes operational on Monday, January 16th across the Kenai Peninsula Borough.
“Call if you can; Text if you can’t”.
According to the Soldotna Public Safety Communications Center, Text-to-911, will help those who are deaf, hard of hearing, speech impaired, and anyone who might be unsafe if they were to be heard by an intruder or abusive partner.
While texting to 911 is a vital tool that increases accessibility to emergency services, the preferred method for those who can speak is to call.
If you do need to text 911 in an emergency:
• Open the text messaging program on your cell phone
• Create a new message
• Enter the numbers 911 in the “To” field
• Send the location of the emergency – including city – and the type of emergency help needed – police, fire, or medical – in the first message
• Keep text messages brief and concise.
• Type complete words, no abbreviation
• Stay with your phone and be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from 911 call takers
There are limitations to Text-to-911 including:
• The system can only receive text, no pictures, videos, or emoji’s.
• Texting can be slower than making a voice call.
Text-to-911 is not for anonymous tips. Officials remind all to please help keep 911 available for those who need it. Do not send test texts.
