Accessibility in emergencies: Florida’s Silent 911 Lifelines

Autumn Raulerson
Riverbend News

Since 1991, Florida has been working to provide accessible and affordable telecommunication for those citizens who may be deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired, as well as accessibility for emergencies where you may be unable to call. It took a couple decades, but eventually the appropriate systems were created to assist anyone who is unable to hear or speak but still needs emergency response — text-to-911, or Real-Time-Text (RTT).

"What does this have to do with me?" You ask.

Well, although it is inarguably agreed upon that calling 911 is always better, sometimes that option could put you in more danger. Or, in some cases, the person in danger may be physically impaired and unable to speak. If someone is silent when they call 911, Florida 911 centers must immediately check if the call is coming from a TDD/TTY device. These are special devices for impaired people that transfer their text through physical or verbal means on their behalf.

If there is no TDD/TTY response, many Florida operators will say something like, "if you are in danger and cannot speak, please tap your phone or press any number." If you press a button, they will likely transition to asking "yes" or "no" questions, like "do you need police? Press any number for yes." Even if you simply remain silent and on the phone, dispatchers will still send law enforcement to check on your safety.

If you can't make that call, though, you can text 911 for another route to assistance. It is important that your text includes an address and what is wrong. You will receive a text asking for more information, but as long as you sent the address, help will arrive. It is also important that your device is not roaming, and that you use your phone's native SMS messaging app to send the message. Do not send media like emojis, photos or videos as the dispatch system cannot process them and it could freeze the conversation. If a technical issue or cell tower failure prevents your text from reaching the dispatch center, you will automatically receive a bounce-back text telling you to call.

The Florida Emergency Communications Board, housed within the Department of Management Services, is responsible for enforcing compliance and regulation of the implementation of text-to-911 services. It falls to each county, however, to install, employ and maintain these capabilities within their respective Public Safety Answering Points. At the national level, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforces rules requiring wireless carriers to deliver emergency text messages to local 911 centers that request them. The availability of these services is only due to the multi-level organization of resources that has taken place.

Starting in 2014, mobile carriers began the process of implementation for text-to-911 capabilities. The four largest wireless carriers deployed FCC infrastructure to support text routing to dispatch centers wherever they were ready. That same year, Collier County officially became the first jurisdiction in Florida to launch this system. Within another month, the Florida Emergency 911 (E911) Board voted to formally support statewide deployment and pushed for rapid county infrastructure updates. More counties soon began following suit.

In 2019, the Florida Senate amended Chapter 365 of the Florida Statutes, mandating local text-to-911 infrastructure in every county in Florida with a hard deadline of 2022 to complete the installment. The same bill also created Fla. Stat. § 365.177, requiring the state to develop its own system for allowing 911 public safety communicators to seamlessly transfer emergency text messages and calls between different local or regional systems. As a result, 66 out of 67 of Florida's counties met the deadline, including Suwannee, Hamilton and Lafayette.

Quick Facts: Florida's text-to-911
• The Golden Rule: Call if you can, text if you can't.
• The Essential Info: Always send your exact address and the nature of the emergency in your first text.
• Text Protocol: Use your phone's native messaging app, keep it plain text and never use emojis, photos or videos.
• The Silent Option: If you must remain silent during a call, dispatchers may ask you to tap your phone to answer "yes" or "no" questions.
• Built-in Safety: If a text fails due to a weak signal or roaming issues, you will immediately receive an automated bounce-back text telling you to call.
• Local Milestones: Collier County was the first to launch the service, and 66 out of 67 counties— including Suwannee, Hamilton and Lafayette —successfully met the state's hard deadline.