Communications

Call 911 if you can - Text if you can't

Wireless Customers in Wise County

Services North Central Texas Council of Government Regional 911 and Wise County Sheriff's Office, Decatur Police Department, Bridgeport Police Department

If you are a cellular customer, in Wise County, Texas, we are pleased to announce that you now have the ability to text 911 in an emergency situation. If you have a 911 emergency and you are unable to make a voice call to 911 or it is not safe to make a voice call, you may now text 911.

What to Tell 911

As always, the first thing 911 needs to know is your exact location and the type of help you need (police, fire or medical).
We ask that if you choose to text to 911 that you text in simple language, using no abbreviations. We ask that you do not text and drive, pull over to a safe location and stop your car before making a text to 911. Also, please remember, 911 is only for emergencies. The Wise County Sheriff's Office Communications Division handles all telephone, 911 and radio traffic for the county, with the exception of the Cities of Bridgeport and Decatur.

Calls

On average, the communications division handles 70 911 calls a day, over 400 regular telephone calls daily and enters approximately 312 calls for service per day.

Communication Officers

All Fire, Medical and Police calls are handled by the communication officers. During peak times as many as four certified communications officers may be staffing the dispatch center. The dispatch center is usually staffed by a minimum of three communications officers, one of which is assigned to the primary law enforcement channel (Sheriff's Deputies and area Police Departments) and one assigned to the Fire and Emergency medical Services (EMS) channel (the 15 rural fire departments that the Sheriff's Office is responsible for dispatching and Wise County Emergency Medical Services). The third communications officer is assigned to a back-up position that is the primary call taker position.

Channels

In addition to the two primary radio channels, the communications division also monitors Aviation Channel 1231, three digital Fire Channels as back up for the primary Fire/EMS channel and law enforcement overflow. All phone lines and radio traffic is recorded on a special digital recording system that is stored for three years.