Imagine you’re hiking deep in the forests of Fannin County and become lost. You have your cell phone, but the signal is weak to say the least. You fear the worst – help will never find you.
But you dial 911 and the call reaches Fannin County’s E-911 center. You can’t hear the dispatcher and the dispatcher can’t hear you, but thanks to an upgrade to the county’s system in December, help is closer than you think.
A text message is automatically sent from Fannin County to your cell phone. A screen appears instructing you to click a link. A second screen appears asking you to allow a website to use your phone to determine your exact location. You press allow.
Another screen asks permission for the website to use your camera. Again you press allow.
A fourth screen appears accessing your camera and then a fifth opens text messaging between you and Fannin County’s E-911 center.
In a matter of seconds you have gone from hopelessness to relief.
Thanks to the system upgrades, rescue personnel have your exact location and know your condition. Help is on the way.
It’s scenarios such as this that EMA Director Robert Graham foresees the system as providing the biggest benefit. Fannin County’s rescue squad puts in countless hours every year combing the forests for lost hikers, much of the time consumed by the search itself.
Graham expects that time will be reduced significantly by the new system.
But finding lost hikers is not the only benefit of the 911 upgrade.
EMA Deputy Director for E-911 Patrick Cooke said the system is as simple as “if you can’t talk, call on your Smartphone and text.”
This feature can be life-saving in a situation where the person is hurt or in danger and unable to speak. In any case, with a few taps on your smartphone screen, help is on the way.
When the upgrade was introduced, Cooke said, “Location is the most critical element in any emergency response. Having such advanced capabilities means we can dispatch in greater confidence.”
The texts are sent automatically, even when you complete a call to 911 and hang up. There is no reason to be concerned in these cases, Cooke said. You are not being tracked, your phone is being located and only with your permission. The process stops when you close the link.
Graham also reminded residents to sign up with Nixle to receive emergency messages from Fannin County. Simply text a Fannin County zip code to 888-777 to be included in the alert system.