Texting moves 911 into 21st century

The widespread use of 911 as an emergency number has recently added a new dimension, with the introduction of “text-to-911.”

Suffolk County began implementing the necessary technology at all its call centers last month. Shelter Island pays to have police, fire and ambulance calls answered by a Southold dispatch center, so the town’s residents can now text to 911 if needed.

“While calling 911 is ideal for a quick response to an emergency,” said Shelter Island Police Chief James Read, “if it’s impossible to place a call without putting yourself in danger, text-to-911 allows a caller to silently reach an emergency call center. A domestic violence incident, for example, could escalate if the victim made a voice call.”

The technology also enables hearing- and speech-impaired persons to reach 911 in a medical crisis, the chief explained. Some instances have been reported where the texter did not speak English but police were able to translate and quickly respond.

“It’s important when texting 911 to give the location of the emergency,” Chief Read added. When the Shelter Island Police Department tested the system recently, an autoprompt asked for the location. That extra step can be eliminated if the texter gives the location up front. Once the text is sent, he added, that creates an open line so the operator can go back and forth with the person seeking help, just as with a voice line, then the dispatcher notifies the caller when the call is ended.

The use of texting, in those cases where it’s needed, should be easy for a generation that is already comfortable with it. An estimated 80 percent of 911 calls in the United States now come from Smartphones, according to the National 911 Program, which is part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Emergency Medical Services.

Although 911 is widely known throughout the United States, its use developed relatively recently. In 1967, the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that a “single number should be established” nationwide for reporting emergency situations. In 1968, AT&T announced that it would establish the digits 911 as the emergency code throughout the United States.

The number was chosen for several reasons. First, and most important, it met public requirements because it is brief, easily remembered, and can be dialed quickly. Second, because it is a unique number, never having been authorized as an office code, area code, or service code, it best met the long range numbering plans and switching configurations of the telephone industry.

Approximately 96 percent of the U.S. is now covered by some type of 911.

Once the idea for 911 was born, implementing the concept took a while to get off the ground, with a philanthropic foundation playing a major role in moving it forward.

Robert Wood Johnson II, whose father had started Johnson & Johnson, had recently died at the time that the modern emergency apparatus was coming to life, and when the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation started in 1972, the medical world suddenly had a billion-dollar foundation ready to help, as the younger Johnson had turned the company into a corporate force.

In the early 1970s, the Foundation’s first president, David Rogers, looked at the nation’s emergency response system and found it wanting. Ambulance crews could not communicate with other ambulance crews. Nor could they share critical patient information with their destination hospitals. Only 12 paramedic crews existed in the entire country. Nothing like the 911 system existed at all.

The Foundation provided a $15 million grant in 32 states, focused on improving emergency services in poorly served rural areas. A side effect of the improvements was that these areas tended to pick up 911, or at the very least, a similarly centralized number. Progress in the grant areas served as a model of the emergency phone number’s effectiveness. Foundation dollars were the spur that encouraged subsequent federal support.

If you’re traveling outside the United States and need to make an emergency call, don’t dial 911. If you’re in Europe, dial “112.” Dialing 112 from any country in the European Union (EU) will connect you to emergency services, such as police, fire, and ambulance services. You can dial 112 free from any mobile phone, landline or payphone. In most EU countries, the operator will speak both the local language and English.

If you’re traveling to countries outside of Europe, check the State Department website before you depart to identify the emergency calling number in the countries you’ll be traveling to. It’s wise to input that number into your phone before your trip.