The Maine Public Utilities Commission (Commission) said Dec. 14 that text to 911 is now available at all 911 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) throughout Maine.  The Commission’s Emergency Services Communications Bureau (ESCB) has been working with major wireless telecommunications carriers over the last several months to complete and test this advancement in technology.  

Texting 911 should only be used when making a voice call to 911 is not an option. Citizens and visitors throughout Maine can send a short text message to 911 in an emergency.  Text-to-911 is intended primarily for use in two emergency scenarios: for those individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing or speech impaired, and for those unable to make a voice call, for example during a medical emergency that renders the person incapable of speech, or in the instance of a home invasion or abduction.

“Text to 911 technology could be a life-saver, especially for people who might otherwise not be able to make a voice call” said Chairman Mark Vannoy.  “This is a major technology advancement, and Maine is among the first in the nation to successfully implement this important technology which takes advantage of our advanced Next Generation 9-1-1 system.”

The Commission urges Mainers to keep the following in mind if they send a text to 911:

The texting option should only be used when making a voice call to 911 is not an option.  Using a phone to call 911 is still the most efficient way to get emergency help.

Providing location information and the nature of the emergency in the first text message is imperative, since the 911 PSAPs will not receive the location of the cell phone.  Text abbreviations or slang should never be used so that the intent of the dialogue can be as clear as possible.

Cell phone users must be in range of a cell tower in Maine.  If they are outside or near the edge of the state, the message may not reach a Maine Communications Center.

Texts sent to 911 have the same 160-character limit as other text messages.

No pictures, video, or other attachments can be sent with these emergency communications.

Background:  The Commission’s ESCB manages the statewide 911 system, and first deployed text to 911 in 2014 using an older technology where two PSAPs answered texts for the entire state.  Maine’s 911 system and hardworking public safety dispatchers handled more than 559,000 calls in 2017 at one of Maine’s 24 PSAPs.  Over 69% of these calls come from wireless phones.