Calling 911 with TDD or TTY

Please do not use the relay service for emergency 911 calls. Our 911 center is ready to handle your call.e911

Since 1992, 911 Centers were required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide direct access to their services to those citizens who use a text telephone for their communications. Our center works diligently to comply with the requirements of the ADA and strives to serve our citizens with communication impairments more effectively. Through efforts such as this information site, we are trying to educate our citizens and employees in hopes that we can more effectively communicate with you - especially during an emergency. The tips provided here are not mandatory. These are tips that we feel will help us better serve you and your family. Our staff trains on TDD/TTY call handling every six months. They also perform TDD/TTY Test calls weekly. We are prepared for handling TDD/TTY calls.

 Help Us Help You

Contact our office if you wish to offer assistance in establishing or reviewing our procedures for handling emergency TDD/TTY calls. We are always looking for new resources to provide additional training to the dispatcher in disability awareness. You may wish to volunteer to participate in a test call program. We welcome and encourage community involvement.

Special Tips

If your TDD/TTY allows you to program information into memory, program your address, phone number and name. If your machine does not have memory, it would be helpful if you hit some keys to signal you are using a TDD/TTY, however, this is not required as our equipment has automatic detection. When the dispatcher answers by sure to provide the address where help is needed, the nature of the problem, and the telephone number you are calling from. 

During an emergency, if you are in danger and need to leave your location, make sure you give the dispatcher your complete location prior to leaving. Once you reach safety, call back and tell the dispatcher you have successfully reached safety.

If you are not in danger, stay on the line until either help arrives or the dispatcher tells you that you may hang up. Emergency units will be dispatched immediately, however, the dispatcher may need to ask additional questions and follow the instructions the dispatcher provides.