The Shenandoah County Emergency Communications Center (ECC) ensures the effective delivery of routine and emergency calls for service to all Shenandoah County public safety entities.
For information about 9-1-1, download the Making 9-1-1 Work For You brochure.
The ECC serves as the PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) for all 911 emergency and non-emergency requests for assistance in Shenandoah County. The Communications Center is staffed with 18 full-time and 2 part-time Public Safety Communication Officers, along with several support staff members.
Emergency Alerts
Want to receive alerts for dangerous weather and other emergencies? Shenandoah County has partnered with CodeRED Community Notification. If you’re interested in signing up for alerts, visit the enrollment page.
Text-to-911
Shenandoah County offers an additional service available for the safety of their citizens and those passing through. Currently, it is possible to use certain wireless telephone services to send a text message to 911. Text-to-911 is the ability to send a “short message” (SMS) to 911; meaning in such areas if you are unable to make a voice 911 call, you can type your message on your wireless phone and send it to a 911 operator. However, even where Text-to-911 is available if you are safely able to call, do so; our dispatchers are trained to listen to background noises and voice inflections, but if you are in a situation where you are unable to call, text us. Texting during an emergency could be helpful if you are deaf, hard of hearing, have a speech disability, or if a voice call to 911 might otherwise be dangerous or impossible.
If you attempt to send a text to 911 where Text-to-911 service is NOT available, you should receive an immediate “bounce-back” message stating Text-to-911 is unavailable* and you should contact emergency services by another means, such as making a voice call or using telecommunications relay services (the latter for consumers who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability).
Like other 9-1-1 calls, Text-to-911 should only be used for emergencies.
Text-to-911 Instructions
If you are in a situation where texting 911 is your best option, follow these steps:
- On your mobile device, go to the messaging screen, enter the numbers “911” in the “Recipient” or “To” field of a new text message.
- Be sure to enter only the numbers “911.”
- Do not enter any punctuation in the “Recipient” or “To” field.
- Text-to-911 cannot include more than one person. Do NOT copy your emergency text to anyone other than 911. Wait until you are safe to notify others of your situation.
- Press the “Send” button.
- Answer questions and follow instructions from the 911 call-taker.
Important tips for utilizing Text-to-911:
- Do NOT text and drive.
- The first Text-to-911 should be short, include the location of the emergency, and ask for police, fire, or ambulance.
- It is vital you know your location; we cannot always identify your location.
- Keep messages short. Text in simple words – no abbreviations or slang.
- Text-to-911 can only receive words and punctuation and cannot receive emoticons, emoji, pictures, or videos.
- As with all text messages, 911 messages can take longer to receive, can be received out of order, or may not be delivered.
- Translation services are not available at this time; therefore, any Text-to-911 call placed in Shenandoah County should be in English.
*Certain phones and Wi-Fi connections hinder the ability to deliver text messages to the 911 center.