Cape Girardeau County’s Office of Emergency Management and local first-responder agencies have announced the implementation of text-to-911 services for county residents.

According to a news release from the Office of Emergency Management, the new service ensures any residents in Cape Girardeau County who use major cellphone carriers ­— which currently includes AT&T, Sprint and Verizon — can reach a first-responder by texting their emergency to 911 when calling isn’t an option.

“Speaking directly to a 911 dispatcher is the most effective and fastest way to relay vital information in an emergency or report a serious crime in progress but for a victim or witness who is hearing impaired, or for a victim who is being monitored by a suspect, placing a call to 911 may not always be a viable option,” the release states. “This text-to-911 service allows anyone to discreetly send a text message directly to a 911 dispatcher who is trained and equipped to receive this message.”

Texts sent to the text-to-911 service will be answered by the same dispatchers and consoles currently used for voice calls. The texts will be received and dispatched by transferring the response to appropriate emergency services. The Office of Emergency Management recommends using plain English, including as much detail as possible in each text and refraining from using emojis and acronyms such as BTW for “by the way” or OMG for “oh, my God.”

The text-to-911 service is fully supported and sustained with funds secured by the Office of Emergency Management and the county 9-1-1 Advisory Board through the 911 Service Board Grant and the NG 911 Grant.