You can now text 911 in every Pennsylvania county

Attention Pennsylvanians, a new potentially life-saving measure has officially reached every county in Pennsylvania; the ability to text 911 in an emergency.

This new measure, “Text-to-911” allows everyone in Pennsylvania as well as many other states across the country to send a text message to the 911 emergency call center in the event that a phone call is not possible.

In a social media post on Facebook , the PA Emergency Management Agency announced the news saying, “You can now text 911 in every county in Pennsylvania. “

When texting 911, the emergency telecommunicator will ask you to confirm your location, the people involved, and any details about the emergency you can provide.

According to information from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency , Text-to-911 may be most helpful in these emergency situations:

• For individuals who have speech or hearing impairments, or who are having a medical emergency that renders them incapable of speech.
• Instances when making noise may endanger the caller, such as a home invasion/robbery, or instances of domestic violence, or an abduction.
  

If you wish to utilize Text-to-911, here are the instructions:

• Step 1:  Create a new text message or conversation.
• Step 2:  Type 911 in the “To” or “Recipient” field.
• Step 3:  Describe your location: Include the address and municipality (township or borough).
• Step 4:  Describe the situation: Include what type of emergency help is needed.
• Step 5:  Send the text message.

Important notes about using Text-to-911:

• A text or data plan is required to place a text to 911.
• Text-to-911 conversations cannot include more than one person. Do not send your emergency text to anyone other than 911.
• Do not use abbreviations or emojis.
• Voice calls are real-time communication and Text-to-911 is not. As with all text messages, text messages to 911 may take longer to receive, may get out of order, or may not be received at all.
• 911 call takers will not be able to hear any background noise that could help with assisting during the emergency.
• Location information will be limited to the cell tower that your cell phone is communicating through. A 911 telecommunicator won’t automatically know where you are.

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