Text-to-911 service available in Allen County

LIMA — The Allen County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management has announced that the Allen County 911 emergency call system is now also text compatible, meaning that wireless customers can send a text to 911 to request emergency assistance as well as utilize traditional voice calls. Users must have a text or data cell phone plan to use this service.

In a release announcing this new feature, the Allen County EMA said that any text-to-911 message can only be up to 140 characters in length. Users of this service should be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from emergency personnel responding to the text.

Because these messages may take longer to receive, this service should only be used when calling 911 is not possible, and the Allen County EMA noted in its release that traditional voice calls to 911 will receive a faster response. Examples of situations where texting would be preferable include if the caller is deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired or if speaking would put the caller in additional danger, according to the Allen County EMA.