Residents living in B.C.'s northern interior who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired can now place emergency 911 calls through text messaging.
The service, unveiled this week, is available in the Fraser-Fort George, Cariboo, Kitimat-Stikine and Bulkley-Nechako regional districts.
"This service will make a real and significant difference in the lives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and families - it will save lives," said Northern B.C. Family Hearing Society vice president Andrea Palmer.
Those who want to use the service must pre-register with their wireless providers by going to www.TextWith911.ca.
When 911 call is received from someone who has pre-registered for the service, an alert will trigger at the centre to indicate there is a hearing or speech impaired caller on the line. The call-taker will then launch the special messaging system, allowing them to communicate with the caller through a special text session.
The service is available only to those who have trouble hearing or with speech. Everyone else must still use voice calling.
David Guscott, president and CEO of E-Comm, which provides 911 in this area, said it's the first centre in Canada to launch the service.
"We are proud to have played a part in the development of this service which is a significant improvement over outdated TTY technology," he said.
