BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – Residents in Brown County now have the ability to text 911 in the case of an emergency.
Director of Public Safety Communications for Brown County, Cullen Peltier explains why implementing this service was so crucial.
“We needed it to reach larger segment our population and also to maybe meet some needs in an emergency situation that we couldn’t necessarily do prior to getting the service enacted.”
The text to 911 option should be used in instances where it’s too dangerous to talk, such as an active shooter, hostage, or battered spouse incident.
It can also be used where the caller is deaf or hard of hearing.
Peltier say he’s been trying to get this implemented for the past four years. Although this new service is available, he says it’s still important to call when you can.
“When you text 911 right now, you’ll get a bounce-back message that will automatically happen right away that will say call if you can, continuing texting if you can’t call,” said Peltier. “Calling is still the easiest and best way for us to get the information that we need from our callers.”
See a PSA on Text to 911 services in the video above.
