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Northeast Iowa county set to receive 911 texts -- chicagotribune.com
A northeast Iowa county has begun implementing technology that will make its 911 call center the first in the nation to accept text messages, officials said Tuesday.
The service is currently in test mode, but Black Hawk County officials say their plan is to go live with the service as early as July.
The technology is designed to allow people with speech and hearing impediments to text 911, and for the emergency operator to communicate back by texting.
Texting to 911 also will be available for anyone in an emergency where a phone call isn't possible, but officials say voice calls will still be the best way to contact emergency operators.
A number of communications companies worked together to develop the technology to speed up a process that can be painfully slow for people with sensory disabilities.
For example, a deaf person calling 911 often must first be connected with someone with hearing, National Emergency Number Association CEO Brian Fontes said. Then the deaf person uses a keyboard to create a message that is sent through a relay center to the person answering the call. Text messaging cuts out a step by connecting the deaf and hearing people directly, Fontes said.
"It's probably a more efficient way, in a texting environment, to communicate with a 911 call center," he said.
Intrado, an emergency communications services company, approached Black Hawk County about installing the technology partly because the county recently put in a $400,000 phone system that uses the Internet and can support 911 text messaging. The county is the first to use the 911 text message system, Fontes said.
Intrado co-founder Steve Meer sent the county its first text on Tuesday from a conference in Fort Worth, Texas. In a test message, Meer said an armed intruder was in his home, and the Black Hawk County call center sent information back to Meer.
Although officials are excited about the potential for 911 texting, they're quick to point out that voice calls are still the preferred method for 911 communication.
"It's easier, the communication between the dispatcher and the other is better, so there's no delay. It's more instant," said Thomas Jennings, police chief in Waterloo, the Black Hawk County seat. "Although I have to be honest: I was here this morning for the first test. It was almost instant. Just being able to talk to individual, it's better for us."
A northeast Iowa county has begun implementing technology that will make its 911 call center the first in the nation to accept text messages, officials said Tuesday.
The service is currently in test mode, but Black Hawk County officials say their plan is to go live with the service as early as July.
The technology is designed to allow people with speech and hearing impediments to text 911, and for the emergency operator to communicate back by texting.
Texting to 911 also will be available for anyone in an emergency where a phone call isn't possible, but officials say voice calls will still be the best way to contact emergency operators.
A number of communications companies worked together to develop the technology to speed up a process that can be painfully slow for people with sensory disabilities.
For example, a deaf person calling 911 often must first be connected with someone with hearing, National Emergency Number Association CEO Brian Fontes said. Then the deaf person uses a keyboard to create a message that is sent through a relay center to the person answering the call. Text messaging cuts out a step by connecting the deaf and hearing people directly, Fontes said.
"It's probably a more efficient way, in a texting environment, to communicate with a 911 call center," he said.
Intrado, an emergency communications services company, approached Black Hawk County about installing the technology partly because the county recently put in a $400,000 phone system that uses the Internet and can support 911 text messaging. The county is the first to use the 911 text message system, Fontes said.
Intrado co-founder Steve Meer sent the county its first text on Tuesday from a conference in Fort Worth, Texas. In a test message, Meer said an armed intruder was in his home, and the Black Hawk County call center sent information back to Meer.
Although officials are excited about the potential for 911 texting, they're quick to point out that voice calls are still the preferred method for 911 communication.
"It's easier, the communication between the dispatcher and the other is better, so there's no delay. It's more instant," said Thomas Jennings, police chief in Waterloo, the Black Hawk County seat. "Although I have to be honest: I was here this morning for the first test. It was almost instant. Just being able to talk to individual, it's better for us."
