New text 911 feature launches in Orange County

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County residents have a new way to get help in the case of an emergency.

Instead of calling 911, they can send a text.

“I think having any kind of avenue for people to reach out for help is important,” said resident Brian Nagle. “Especially in situations where you wouldn’t be able to dial on the phone.”

Dispatchers said if someone texts 911, they need to type out their address, including the city, state their emergency and specify whether they need police or fire.

They don’t want the text to include emojis, social media slang or abbreviations.

“I think it’s a good idea, but I think they should do it in Spanish too, for those that can’t speak very well or don’t understand,” said resident Evelin Jimenez.

Evelin is 12 years old and the only English speaker in her immediate family.

She said she wants her Spanish-speaking parents to be able to use the system too.

“I’m going to ask that we do everything we can to be prepared and that there’s somebody always on hand that can make that translation,” said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.

Dispatchers will do their best to translate any texts that come through in other languages, but they can only guarantee responses in English.

County officials said calling should be the first thing you do in an emergency and to only use texting as a backup if calling is too dangerous or is not possible.

Cox Media Group