All DuPage County residents can now text 911 in an emergency, officials announce
Residents across DuPage County can now text 911 in an emergency.
The launch of the service was announced at this week's DuPage County Board meeting as part of a proclamation for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which this year runs from April 13-19.
'Text-to-911 is a critical step forward in making emergency services more accessible and inclusive,' County Board Chair Deb Conroy said Tuesday as she announced the program.
Residents should still call 911 if possible, officials say, but text-to-911 will allow them to reach telecommunicators in situations that do not lend themselves to a voice call, such as assistance for someone who is deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired, situations in which it would be unsafe to call 911 or medical emergencies that render someone unable to speak.
The program has been in the works for about six months across two of the county's three Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), according to Greg Schwarze, District 6 County Board member and chair of the county's Emergency Telephone System Board. The county's PSAPs are the Addison Consolidated Dispatch Center (ACDC), DuPage Public Safety Communications (DU-COMM) and Naperville's Emergency Communications Center.
Naperville instituted a text-to-911 service in September 2021, according to city spokeswoman Linda LaCloche. With the county's launch Tuesday, ACDC and DU-COMM are following suit, Schwarze said.
Regionally, Will County implemented text-to-911 in 2015. Aurora instituted the service in 2016. Statewide, 140 out of 176 PSAPs across Illinois — nearly 80% — are accepting or in the process of allowing text-to-911, according to an Illinois State Police spokesman.
DuPage officials commended the local adoption of the service at their meeting Tuesday.
District 5 Board Member Dawn DeSart, D-Naperville, called text-to-911 a 'game-changer,' noting that she knows firsthand the value in the program.
'Four years ago this week, I couldn't breathe,' she said. 'Turns out I had double pneumonia, but I could not breathe and there was no text-to-911 (where I was) at that time. … I kept calling and hanging up just to get word out that I needed help.'
The system is compatible with mobile carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile and works on any text-capable device, including smartphones and tablets. Dispatch centers cannot receive photos, videos or emojis.
To participate in the service, start by typing '911' in the 'to' or 'recipient' field of a message, which should also include the sender's exact location and what kind of emergency help is needed. Officials advise texting short messages without abbreviations or slang. They also say to be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from telecommunicators.
More information on DuPage's text-to-911 service can be found at http://www.dupagecounty.gov/text911.
tkenny@chicagotribune.com
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