Bureau County offers text to 911 service for those who can’t call for emergencies

Bureau, Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties have joined together to implement Next Generation 911 services throughout each of their communities.

All counties also have deployed text to 911 services for their residents.

Together, the agency is reminding residents to only text 911 when help is needed and they are unable to call and speak with a dispatcher.

In a news release, the agency said residents should remember that 911 personnel are busy taking other emergency calls, so they should not attempt to send a text to 911 services as a test.

Additional tests only add to the already heavy workload of 911 dispatchers and centers.

Not all carriers offer texting at this time. If you try to text and the service is not available, you will get a bounce-back message that advises “texting is not available.”

If you receive this message, you should immediately call 911.