Texting 111 - emergency service for Deaf and hearing impaired

This information is for Deaf and hearing impaired people registered to use the emergency 111 TXT service.

When you text 111

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If you have an emergency, what should you put in your first text to 111?

Four things:

Where you are (your location).
Which service you need - Fire, Ambulance or Police. (You can put F, A or P.)
Happening when.
What's happening.

Here are some examples of what you might put:

Emergency at home needing Fire - Home/F/now/kitchen fire big
Emergency at work needing Fire - Work/F/now/man trapped in machine
Emergency at home needing Ambulance - Home/A/now/heart pain tight
Emergency at work needing Ambulance - Work/A/now/woman bad cut cant stop bleed
Emergency at home needing Police - Home/P/now/fight on street two people bad
Emergency at work needing Police - Work/P/now/man robbed store

Remember - as a registered member of the service, you should get a text back within 2 minutes of sending your first text.

If you don't, it could mean there are delays on the phone network and your text hasn't got through. You should immediately contact 111 a different way.

When to stop texting
The Police will tell you when to stop texting.

Text again if:

Anything changes or the situation gets worse.
Police, the fire engine or the ambulance haven't arrived when you expected them.

Registering
Remember - if you haven't registered your text message won't get through.

Texting 111

Presented by: Catherine Greenwood, Deaf Aotearoa NZ
Filmed by: NZ Police Video Unit

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Texting 111 - emergency service for Deaf and hearing impaired

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