DEARBORN- Dearborn is one of 18 communities in western Wayne County with a
new Text-to-911 service, which means people have another way to summon help
when they are in an emergency situation.

The
announcement was made on Friday, April 15 that the Text-to-911 service is now
available to the 18 communities within its jurisdiction.

Residents and visitors in Dearborn and other Wayne County communities
can reach emergency responders through 911 via text if they have a texting plan
with one of the four major carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon.

            The
service is activated by sending a SMS text on a mobile phone to the number
“911”.  That text message will be routed
to the nearest CWW 911 dispatch center for action. 

The CWW and public safety officials made clear that calling 911 is still
the preferred method in an emergency, but may not be possible in some
situations. The motto is  “Call if you can, text if you can’t.”

Mayor Jack. O’Reilly, Jr. said this new service strengthens Dearborn’s
already outstanding public safety response.

“This new technology should give our residents and visitors additional
peace of mind, that they will be able to reach out for help even if they can’t
talk in an emergency,” said O’Reilly.

The CWW communities are the cities of Belleville, Dearborn, Dearborn
Heights, Garden City, Inkster, Livonia, Northville, Plymouth, Romulus, Wayne
and Westland, and the townships of Canton, Huron, Northville, Plymouth,
Redford, Sumpter and Van Buren.

If the texter is in an area that does not support text-to-911, they will
receive a “bounce-back” message informing them 911 is not available via
text.