Edmonson County residents can now text 911 for emergency service

BROWNSVILLE, Ky. – If you live in Edmonson County, there’s a new way of reaching responders during an emergency.

The county is now offering a text to 9-1-1 service. Texting 9-1-1 can be the difference between life and death for some situations

Texting 911 is not only helpful for the deaf community, but also when a person has to be quiet during an emergency such as an abduction or home invasion.

Another time it may be useful is when a person may be having a medical issue where they are unable to speak but can get their hands on a phone.

The new technology is meant to supplement a normal call and provide the community with a wider range of services.

“Once these other counties can see the benefit coming from these counties, it’s going to be a must have,” Brownsville Police Chief Jeff Jewel said.

Responders also said the texting feature does have its downfalls such as poorer location accuracy and the dispatcher cannot hear background noises to help understand the caller’s problem.

Edmonson County 911 coordinator Patrick Prunty is thankful to have the new technology in use but wants to remind the public that texting 911 is for emergencies only.

“We want you to use it when you need it, but we also want to key on need it when you use it. We don’t want you to be playing with it because it’s something new. It ties up our dispatchers, ties up circuits that might be needed by somebody else in an emergency,” Prunty said.

Only a small percentage of counties in Kentucky have this new technology, but Edmonson County hopes more counties join in and that the equipment continues to get better so that they can provide the top quality services to their residents.