MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis residents now have the ability to seek emergency help from both fire and police just by sending a text.
According to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, the city is the first in the state to offer this 911 Text service.
“I want to recognize how important this is to the hearing impaired and the speech impaired. This is a service that we are providing…they could really not take part in the other system that we have, so it’s really important to serve all Memphians,” he said.
He also pointed out that the system could also be utilized by those in dangerous situations where speaking on a phone would be dangerous.
The system has been live for a couple of weeks, testing out the system and training employees before making it public. The mayor described a situation just last night where a domestic violence victim contacted 911 via text and received timely help.
But there are some things to keep in mind if you plan on using this system.
The system will only accept simple texts. That means no emojis or special characters, and no group messaging. All texts should also be sent in English, though they are working to expand this to include other languages.
