Iowa 911 center receives text messages

The Black Hawk County (Iowa) 9-1-1 Service Board announced that the Black Hawk Consolidated Public Safety Communications Center now officially can receive text messages from select wireless subscribers in the county. The call center successfully completed the text trial this past June and is now the first 911 call center in the country able to receive text messages directly into 9-1-1. According to the board, those individuals with speech and hearing impairments, or callers otherwise unable to place a voice call, can use text messaging to communicate directly with a 911 telecommunicator in an emergency.