Starting Friday, Feb. 10, people who need of help in Ottawa County have one more way to reach 911 - they can send a text.
Ottawa County Central Dispatch's text message technology makes it debut just in time for the weekend. Residents of Ottawa County and Holland, including the portion of the city in Allegan County, are now able to get in touch with central dispatch via text message.
The idea of texting 911 was implemented to help people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but can also benefit people in domestic violence situations, a robbery or home break-ins where it might endanger them to talk on the phone.
The call will be handled similar to a voice call with 911. Users are limited to 256 characters in each text. If a person tries to send a photo or video, it will not be received by central dispatch.
Users are asked to text clearly and without abbreviations, and especially not to text 911 while driving.