SMETHPORT — The McKean Commissioners have announced that residents of McKean County will now be able to send a short message service (SMS) text message to 911 for emergency help when unable to make a 911 voice call.
Text-to-911 is intended primarily for use in two emergency scenarios: For an individual who is hearing or speech impaired and for a person who is unable to make a voice call, for example, during a medical emergency that renders the person incapable of speech, or in the instance of a home invasion or abduction.
“The safety of residents and visitors in McKean County is our top priority, and Text-to-911 could be a lifesaver for those who are unable to make a voice call,” said Andrew Johnson, director of McKean County 911.
Johnson was quick to point out that making a traditional voice call is still the preferred method to contact 911 for any emergency.
“Voice calls allow for much quicker and more accurate dialogue between the caller and the dispatcher,” Johnson said. “The new ability to text is just another tool for those who can’t call. We’ve adopted the motto ‘Call if you can, text if you can’t.’”
For his part, Commissioner Al Pingie said, “I am proud of the work done by our staff at the 911 Center to make this service available. McKean County is among the first 10 counties in Pennsylvania to offer the text-to-911 service,” which is still a fairly new concept nationwide.
Important information for Text-to-911 in McKean County:
• Customers should use the texting option only when calling 911 is not an option, as using a phone to call 911 is still the most efficient way to reach emergency help.
• Texting is not always instantaneous, which is critical during a life-threatening emergency. It may take slightly longer to dispatch emergency services in a Text-to-911 situation because of the time involved. Someone must enter the text, the message must go over the network and the 911 dispatcher must read the text and then text back.
Authorities also provided several tips to make using the Text-to-911 service more effective.
• Providing good and accurate location information and nature of the emergency in the first text message is imperative since the 911 Center will receive only an approximate location of the cell phone and will not be able to speak with the person sending the text. Text abbreviations, or slang, should never be used so the intent of the dialogue can be as clear as possible.
• Customers must be in range of cell towers in the 814 area code. If customers are outside or near the edge of the county they may not reach McKean County 911.
• Texts sent to 911 have the same 160-character limit as other text messages.
• The texting function should only be used for emergency situations that require an immediate response from police, fire or emergency medical services. Non-emergency issues should still be communicated to McKean County 911 through its non-emergency lines at 814-887-4911.
• SMS911 should only be used to communicate between emergency help and the texter with no pictures, video, attachments or other recipients appended to the message.
This information and more is available online at www.mckeancountypa.org/Departments/911/Index.aspx.
