In McLennan County, it is now possible to text for 911 services.
The McLennan County Emergency Assistance District implemented the new text messaging service on May 21 with the four major wireless carriers, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. Customers with those carriers can send a text up to 140 characters in an emergency.
The McLennan County EAD says you should only text 911 in an emergency situation with placing a voice call is not possible as voice calls to 911 are still the best and fastest way to get help. "Call if you can -- text if you can't," will be the new slogan used in the county and other communities that have also implemented the service.
If you find yourself in an emergency and are unable to make a voice call McLennan County EAD has provided the following steps:
- Do not text and drive.
- Text location information is not equal to current location technology.
- When sending a text to 911, do not include dashes or any other special characters.
- In the first text message send the location and type of emergency.
- Text in simple words- Do not use abbreviations or slang.
- Be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from the 911 call taker.
- Photos and videos cannot be sent to 911 at this time
- Text to 9-1-1 cannot include more than one person. Do not send your emergency text to anyone other than 911
- Voice calls to 911 are always the best and fastest way to get help
The McLennan County EAD emergency assistance district added if you do not receive a response from a 911 operator, make a voice call.
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