Norwalk officials highlighted the city's new 911 system Friday. The city is one of the first municipalities in the state to expand its system with the addition of video, real-time translation and improved GPS mapping.

It's also the first department in the country to have voice-to-voice direct translation. The department currently has text-to-text translation.

As a result of the improvements, residents are now able to send photographs and videos directly to dispatchers who can then pass them on to first responders.

State funding paid for the upgrades.

"I think we're really lucky here in the state of Connecticut that we have the opportunity to initiate this kind of technology here in Norwalk," says Mayor Barbara Symth. "We wouldn't be able to do it without the state's help. So it's very exciting to be one of the first cities in the country to implement this technology."

Norwalk is now additionally part of Connecticut's Land Mobile Radio Network, which will improve communication locally and across the state for emergency responders.