A text message from a 16 year-old Norwegian girl during last month’s massacre at a youth camp is offering insights into emergency reporting during a dire emergency, and if text messaging 911 will be as effective as some believe. The incident has already been cited in press reports as an example of how Next Generation 911 (NG911) will offer improved emergency reporting by allowing callers to send text messages, photos and videos to public safety comm centers. In an account by MSNBC, Marianne Bremnes ran with several other campers and hid among rocks to avoid being shot by the suspect. While there, she text messaged her mother, “Mummy, tell the police to come quick. People are dying here.” Her mother then contacted the police, only to have her daughter text for help again. “I am working on it, Julie,” her mother responded. Finally, Bremnes’ mother reported that she had contacted police, officers were on the way, and, “They’ve had many calls.” Bremnes replied, “Tell the police that a madman is running around shooting people. They have to hurry!” The mother and daughter then kept up a 90-minute text message conversation until police officers arrived on the island and rescue Bremnes.
One press account says that Bremnes first telephoned her mother to report a shooting, and then later reverted to text messages with her. Another account says Bremnes was “unable” to contact the police, and switched to text messaging with her mother to avoid detection by the suspect.
Norway uses 112 as the nationwide police emergency phone number. There were hundreds of children and adults on the island at the time of the shootings, and many used their wireless phones to call for help, tying up the emergency lines and dispatchers.
Read a transcript of the text messages here., and a U.S. media story about text messaging 911 here.
6 comments… add one
The last sentence provides a reason to NOT allow citizens to text to 911. This is a situation where call centers were not doubt overwhelmed with incoming calls, and texting to 911 will tie up a line for a much longer period of time than talking to a live person would. It takes much longer to text than to talk to a live person no matter how much technology may improve and since, “seconds save lives” the risks outway the benifits. As tough a situation as this must have been for this girl, if she would have been able to text to a 911 center, she would have tied up a dispatcher that could have been processing other calls.
As a 911 dispatcher with the texting option, I am for the use of it. As it states in the story it was a better option for the young girl to text so she didn’t risk being heard talking. Our texting is set up on a seperate computer from our phones so it doesn’t tie up a phone line. I have taken calls and used the texting at the same time. We have a deaf boy here in town and he prefers to use the texting over anything else.
I think that people should be able to send text messages to 911. While I do not live in Virginia, there was a shooting at a school there called Virginia Tech in 2007. Apparently, a number of students who were trying to keep quiet tried to text 911 about the shooting, but they were not received due to the lack of a system to handle them. There are times where sending a text message would be better. Calling only uses audio as a person can only speak to a second person. However, a text message could send images, video, and audio. While you do lose the ability to ask questions to the caller, you could send a message with the location and problem, while including a picture of any injuries from the incidence to help both responders and the hospital or place where the person will be treated know what the possible injuries are to a person.
The story about students text messaging during the Virginia Tech murders has been circulating for several years. However, my investigation of the claim has found no source. Indeed, the state’s comprehensive investigation and report on the murders did not mention that anyone tried to text message to the emergency telephone number 9-1-1. In any event, police officers arrived at the building within 4 minutes of the first 9-1-1 call to find the doors chained up by the suspect—which actually created the longest delay, not any ability to text message 9-1-1.
My concern is what if the text does not go through. What if they are in an area with bad or no service for their phone. They think help is on the way and it won’t be. Or the fact that people use abbrivations on text , what if they can not be understood. Most people don’t know where they are when were on the phone with them, or even the City they are in. People don’t know what we need to know to send them help, which is why we ask questions. By the time we go back and forth with them on a text valuable time will be lost. The idea sounds good if it’t the only option. It clearly worked for the girl in the shooting but she was not sending the text to the police department she was texting her mother who called police.
I think there are pros and cons to the whole thing.
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