The Allegheny County 911 Center has received 185 text-to-911 messages since the service was introduced in May, according to the Department of Emergency Services.
Gary Thomas, assistant chief and 911 coordinator for the department, said no one knew what to expect when the service was implemented.
“It’s working,” he said. “As far as where we should be, no one really can tell because this is fairly new technology to the 911 industry.”
The tool was designed for cell phone users to communicate with emergency services when calling is not an option, as well as those with hearing or speech impairments.
Thomas said texts have been coming in slowly, but are increasing in popularity as more carriers begin to provide the service.
“There was a thought in the very beginning that the 911 centers would be overwhelmed by the amount of text-calls to 911,” he said, “but we have not seen that being the case, nor other PSAPs (Public-Safety Answering Points) who have implemented this as well.”
For the most part, Thomas said the texting tool is serving its intended purpose.
“One call was from a caller who thought they heard somebody breaking into the house so they texted 911, which is the proper way to do that,” he said. “But as far as the other ones, some were accidental; some were non-emergencies where we just called the person back.”
According to the county, calling 911 is still the most efficient method for reaching emergency services. Texts take longer to process and could lead to a delay in dispatch, according to Thomas.
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless currently carry the text-to-911 service in Allegheny County.
