SOS text? Snohomish County considering 911 texting

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Emergency dispatchers in Snohomish county will try out a 911 texting service.

The Everett Herald reports that the service could be live by 2016, which would make the county the second in the state to allow people to text 911.

Officials say the service is meant for use by people with disabilities or in situations where dialing the phone would put the caller in danger.

County 911 Coordinator Laura Caster said calling will still be preferred.

The local SNOCOM dispatch center says there were more than 8,700 failed texts to 911 in the state last year.

SNOCOM Executive Director Debbie Grady said the organization is conducting testing to learn what such texts would look like.