People in Seattle and King County can now text emergency responders for help, in addition to calling.
On Thursday, King County announced that all of the county’s 9-1-1 call centers are able to accept text messages. The new service is especially designed to help those who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired, or who might be unsafe if they were to be heard by an intruder or abusive partner.
Generally, though, King County officials continue to promote calling over texting. Officials say 9-1-1 texts have the same limitations as other text messages: they can be delayed due to wireless network traffic. And texting to 9-1-1 does not support receiving photos or videos, and can only respond to texts in English.
