LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – Beginning Thursday, June 1st residents in Lancaster County will be able to text 911 if they are in an emergency.
The new service will have the ability to send a text of up to 140 characters.
Lancaster County leaders say all phone carriers have been tested and are able to use the feature.
Lancaster County leaders want to urge residents the text-to-911 service is to only be used in case of an emergency.
Robert Purser, director of Lancaster County Public Safety Communications, hopes this
new software will make it easier for those in Lancaster County to reach 911.
“Voice calls are still the best and fastest way to get assistance from 911,” Purser said.
“However, this gives us another resource we didn’t have before to better serve the citizens of Lancaster County. Call if you can, text if you can’t.”
Lancaster officials say if there is an emergency where you are unable to make a call, remember the following steps: do not text and drive, in the first message, send your location and type of emergency. text simple words, and be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions from the 911 call taker.
More information from the county is available below:
A text or data plan is required to place a text-to-911. As with all text messages, messaging
9-1-1 may take longer to receive, may get out of order, or may not be received at all.
If you do not receive a response from 9-1-1, try to contact emergency services by calling 9-1-1 and speaking with someone directly.
Photos and videos cannot be sent to 9-1-1 through text at this time, and messages cannot
include more than one person.
Messages sent to a group that includes 9-1-1 will not be received.
Voice calls to 911 are still the best and fastest way to contact 9-1-1. The text-to-911 service is not available everywhere in South Carolina or in the United States.
