Emergency 911 systems go down in Pennsylvania leaving some residents to fend for themselves
The issue was initially reported via an emergency alert as a 'statewide intermittent 911 outage.' But during a Friday evening press briefing, Randy Padfield, the state's Emergency Management Director, said it isn't an outage.
According to CBS News Philadelphia, sources say it's a third-party company IT issue. The company is contracted with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
Padfield said it's too soon to say what caused the issue, noting it could be a software or hardware problem.
The director said around 2 p.m. on Friday, a 911 service provider that handles network services for the state discovered emergency calls were intermittently failing to connect on the 911 network.
He added the problem was initially identified when entering the 911 center in Delaware County. The provider subsequently made PEMA aware, starting the work to resolve the issue in the state of 13 million people.
Soon, other counties began reporting the same problem, prompting an emergency alert to be sent to the public at about 3.30 p.m.
"Pennsylvania is experiencing a statewide intermittent 911 outage. Individuals experiencing issues contacting 911 are asked to contact their local 911 Center on their non-Emergency lines,' the alert stated.
"The system continues to have some intermittent connectivity issues at this point in time. They are still trying to troubleshoot," Padfield said on Friday evening.
During his most recent update, Padfield said it appeared that most 911 calls were going through, but he added that there were some 'intermittent issues' with the calls, such as some of the calls not having location or number data.
"Individuals should continue to use 911, and if they would call 911 for an emergency and the call is not delivered, they should use the backup seven-digit administrative line or follow the instructions of their local 911 center or public safety answering point," said Padfield.
'We are on top of the issue and working to restore full service as quickly as possible,' Governor Josh Shapiro said in a statement on X. 'In the meantime — stay calm, follow the directions of PEMA and local authorities, and do not call 911 for any reason other than an emergency.'
Some counties in the state are calling their residents to inform them about the outage, according to CBS News Philadelphia.
PEMA urged residents to check their county's social media outlets and websites for further information.
At the press conference in Harrisburg, Padfield said Pennsylvanians should still use the 911 system for emergencies, but if a call doesn't go through, they should follow the instructions from their local 911 center.
At 5.35 p.m., Allegheny County Emergency Services wrote on X that the 911 communications have been '100 percent back to normal operations, with no issues, for approximately 30 minutes.'
But it added that intermittent issues remain a statewide problem.
'We have been in constant coordination with all of our county partners and PEMA while they troubleshoot,' they said.
"At this point, we don't believe this was caused by a cyberattack or a software update," Padfield said. "It could be a software glitch, a hardware failure, or something outside the network. What we know is that it's sporadic and intermittent, and our vendor has all technical experts engaged."
"The system has performed flawlessly through severe weather and high call volume situations," he added. "This issue is an anomaly, but we are taking it seriously."
Pennsylvania emergency numbers by county
Philadelphia County: 215-686-8686 / 311
Chester County: 610-436-4700 / 610-344-6456
Bucks County: 215-328-8500 / 215-357-8700
Delaware County: 610-565-6575 / 610-891-5200
Montgomery County: 610-635-4300
Northampton County: 610-759-2200
Lehigh County: 610-437-5252 / 610-437-7751
Berks County: 610-655-4911
Allegheny County: 412-473-3056
Armstrong County: 724-548-3431
Beaver County: 724-775-1700
Butler County: 724-282-1221
Cambria County: 814-472-2100
Clarion County: 814-226-6631
Fayette County: 724-430-1277
Greene County: 724-627-5387
Indiana County: 724-349-9300
Lawrence County: 724-656-9300
Mercer County: 724-662-6110
Somerset County: 814-445-1525
Venango County: 814-677-0325
Washington County: 724-229-4600
Westmoreland County: 724-836-1551
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
8 hours ago
- The Independent
Emergency 911 systems go down in Pennsylvania leaving some residents to fend for themselves
The state of Pennsylvania is racing to address an issue with its emergency 911 systems, which is affecting areas across the state. The issue was initially reported via an emergency alert as a 'statewide intermittent 911 outage.' But during a Friday evening press briefing, Randy Padfield, the state's Emergency Management Director, said it isn't an outage. According to CBS News Philadelphia, sources say it's a third-party company IT issue. The company is contracted with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. Padfield said it's too soon to say what caused the issue, noting it could be a software or hardware problem. The director said around 2 p.m. on Friday, a 911 service provider that handles network services for the state discovered emergency calls were intermittently failing to connect on the 911 network. He added the problem was initially identified when entering the 911 center in Delaware County. The provider subsequently made PEMA aware, starting the work to resolve the issue in the state of 13 million people. Soon, other counties began reporting the same problem, prompting an emergency alert to be sent to the public at about 3.30 p.m. "Pennsylvania is experiencing a statewide intermittent 911 outage. Individuals experiencing issues contacting 911 are asked to contact their local 911 Center on their non-Emergency lines,' the alert stated. "The system continues to have some intermittent connectivity issues at this point in time. They are still trying to troubleshoot," Padfield said on Friday evening. During his most recent update, Padfield said it appeared that most 911 calls were going through, but he added that there were some 'intermittent issues' with the calls, such as some of the calls not having location or number data. "Individuals should continue to use 911, and if they would call 911 for an emergency and the call is not delivered, they should use the backup seven-digit administrative line or follow the instructions of their local 911 center or public safety answering point," said Padfield. 'We are on top of the issue and working to restore full service as quickly as possible,' Governor Josh Shapiro said in a statement on X. 'In the meantime — stay calm, follow the directions of PEMA and local authorities, and do not call 911 for any reason other than an emergency.' Some counties in the state are calling their residents to inform them about the outage, according to CBS News Philadelphia. PEMA urged residents to check their county's social media outlets and websites for further information. At the press conference in Harrisburg, Padfield said Pennsylvanians should still use the 911 system for emergencies, but if a call doesn't go through, they should follow the instructions from their local 911 center. At 5.35 p.m., Allegheny County Emergency Services wrote on X that the 911 communications have been '100 percent back to normal operations, with no issues, for approximately 30 minutes.' But it added that intermittent issues remain a statewide problem. 'We have been in constant coordination with all of our county partners and PEMA while they troubleshoot,' they said. "At this point, we don't believe this was caused by a cyberattack or a software update," Padfield said. "It could be a software glitch, a hardware failure, or something outside the network. What we know is that it's sporadic and intermittent, and our vendor has all technical experts engaged." "The system has performed flawlessly through severe weather and high call volume situations," he added. "This issue is an anomaly, but we are taking it seriously." Pennsylvania emergency numbers by county Philadelphia County: 215-686-8686 / 311 Chester County: 610-436-4700 / 610-344-6456 Bucks County: 215-328-8500 / 215-357-8700 Delaware County: 610-565-6575 / 610-891-5200 Montgomery County: 610-635-4300 Northampton County: 610-759-2200 Lehigh County: 610-437-5252 / 610-437-7751 Berks County: 610-655-4911 Allegheny County: 412-473-3056 Armstrong County: 724-548-3431 Beaver County: 724-775-1700 Butler County: 724-282-1221 Cambria County: 814-472-2100 Clarion County: 814-226-6631 Fayette County: 724-430-1277 Greene County: 724-627-5387 Indiana County: 724-349-9300 Lawrence County: 724-656-9300 Mercer County: 724-662-6110 Somerset County: 814-445-1525 Venango County: 814-677-0325 Washington County: 724-229-4600 Westmoreland County: 724-836-1551
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Crews tackle huge late-night blaze at industrial estate with warehouse, cranes and vehicles on fire
Around 150 firefighters are tackling a huge late-night blaze at an industrial estate in London. A warehouse has caught fire along with a crane and several other vehicles. A large emergency response including 25 fire engines rushed to Erith at around 10.45pm on Friday. Three of the London Fire Brigade's 32-metre turntable ladders have been deployed to provide a vantage point for assessing the scene and to deliver water from above. Local residents are being advised to keep their windows and doors closed where possible due to smoke being produced. A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade said: 'The Brigade's Control Officers took the first of 10 calls to the fire and mobilised crews from Bexley, Erith, Plumstead, East Greenwich, Sidcup and surrounding fire stations to the scene. 'The cause of the fire is not known at this time.' They added that it is likely to be a 'protracted incident' with crews on scene throughout the night.
Times
9 hours ago
- Times
The drinking, daring, downcast women of the Restoration court
Act now to keep your subscription We've tried to contact you several times as we haven't been able to take payment. You must update your payment details via My Account or by clicking update payment details to keep your subscription.
