Text with 911 available in Niagara for hearing and speech impaired
By CKTB News
Niagara 9-1-1 and the Emergency Services of Niagara have announced Text with 9-1-1 (T9-1-1) service in the Niagara Region.
The technology enables communications operator to communicate with members of the DHHSI (Deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired) community by text messaging.
T9-1-1 can be used whenever a police, fire department, Niagara EMS or Niagara Parks Police response is required.
Niagara Emergency Management Coordinator Kevin Smith says the the addition of T9-1-1 service enhances the accessibility and ease of access to the DHSSI community.
To be eligible to use this service the cell phone must be;
- Registered for T9-1-1 with the DHHSI subscriber's cell phone company in advance
- Capable of sending and receiving text (SMS) messages and activated with a service package that includes text messaging
- Connected to a cellular network.
Text messaging by devices solely connected to Wi-Fi, is not supported by T9-1-1.
In order to use the T9-1-1 service, registered users must place a conventional voice call to 9-1-1. The call from a registered cell phone is flagged to the emergency operator, prompting them to initiate a text chat with the registered device.