Latest news with #RandyPadfield
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania officials report they have fixed the statewide 911 disruption
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency reported that 911 services have been restored in the commonwealth, though the cause is still under investigation. The statewide NextGen 911, which provides the network services for the commonwealth, detected a situation around 2 p.m. Friday where calls were intermittently failing to be delivered, according to Randy Padfield, director of Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. This was originally detected with calls going into the Delaware County 911 call center. PEMA officials said they worked late into the night with county 911 offices and tech experts "to restore this critical emergency service to its full capacity." "We worked with counties to fully test that the system is operational," PEMA officials said on its Facebook page. "Please do not call 911 for testing purposes; leave lines open for true emergencies." Bob Dowd, director of the Lebanon County Department of Emergency Services, said that all 911 call delivery services to Lebanon County have been restored as of 11 p.m. Friday evening. Padfield said the issue was "an anomaly" for officials that work with the NextGen 911 system, which he described as working flawlessly through issues that include severe weather events. "It could be a software issue, it could be a hardware issue," he said in a press conference Friday. "What we know is that it doesn't appear to be the result of a software update that was pushed, based on our communications with the Next Gen 911 service provider." PEMA reported that officials were still identifying the root cause of the issues with the system, and said they would update residents to a cause "as soon as we can." This is an ongoing story. Please check back for updates. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Pa officials restored 911 services after statewide intermittent outage
Fox News
4 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Pennsylvania officials report intermittent failures in statewide 911 service
Pennsylvania officials reported statewide issues Friday with the state's 911 system. "Pennsylvania is experiencing a statewide intermittent 911 outage," the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) said in an alert Friday. "Individuals experiencing issues contacting 911 are asked to contact their local 911 center on their non-emergency lines. Check your (county's) social media and website for more information." Randy Padfield, director of PEMA, stressed at a news conference that the issues were intermittent and began around 2 p.m. when some calls failed to be delivered. PEMA's 911 team began investigating the issue immediately to "identify the root cause of the issue as a standard practice," Padfield said. A conference bridge line was established between all public safety answering points, he said. And because several counties were reporting the same issue and the cause hadn't been identified, "out of an abundance of caution, a statewide Wireless Emergency Alert and emergency alert System message was sent to the public to notify them of the intermittent issues," he said. "Currently, our teams are engaged with the public safety answering points or 911 centers and the Next Gen 911 service provider, monitoring the system, and the system continues to have some intermittent connectivity issues at this point in time," he said. "They are still trying to troubleshoot." He said while the cause has yet to be identified, the majority of calls are going through, and Pennsylvanians should continue to call 911 if they need help. If a call doesn't go through, "they should use the backup seven-digit administrative line or follow the instructions of their local 911 center or public safety answering point," he added. But he urged people not to call 911 just to test if it's working. "If they test the system and hang up on the system, that is considered an abandoned call," he explained. "The 911 centers have to go back and investigate that call. So, we ask for the public's cooperation. As we continue, we'll provide additional updates as they become available." He said there's a "tremendous" amount of redundancy built into the Next Gen 911 system. "We've seen it actually perform flawlessly for a lot of severe weather incidents where there are a lot of 911 calls coming into the system," Padfield said, adding that the situation is more of an "anomaly for us and for the Next Gen 911 service provider. "We want to resolve it in the shortest amount of time possible." Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said on X Friday that he had been briefed by PEMA on the "intermittent 911 outage currently happening in some parts of Pennsylvania. We are on top of the issue and working to restore full service as quickly as possible. 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."
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
Pennsylvania reports ‘intermittent' 911 system outage
Pennsylvania 's emergency 911 system is experiencing intermittent connectivity issues across the state, affecting call reliability. The problem, initially reported as a 'statewide intermittent 911 outage,' was clarified by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) as not a full outage. PEMA Director Randy Padfield stated the cause is unknown but is not believed to be a cyberattack or software update, possibly a glitch or hardware failure. Residents are advised to continue using 911 for emergencies, but if calls fail, they should use backup non- emergency lines provided by their local 911 centers. While some counties reported a return to normal operations, PEMA and Governor Josh Shapiro are actively working to restore full service statewide.
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- 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
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Multi-agency resource center to open for Northeast Philly plane crash
PHILADELPHIA COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — Residents, families, and businesses impacted by last week's plane crash in Philadelphia will have access to city and state resources in one place beginning tomorrow. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) said Wednesday a Multi-Agency Resource Center will open Thursday afternoon. 'Awful aviation disaster:' Air medical jet crashes in Philadelphia shortly after takeoff 'The tragic plane crash caused significant damage along Cottman Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, leaving many residents and businesses with questions on how to recover,' said PEMA Director Randy Padfield. 'This MARC will bring multiple agencies and organizations to one location to help survivors navigate access to the resources they need to begin returning their lives and community back to normal.' The center will be at the Scattergood Building of Friends Hospital, 4641 Roosevelt Boulevard, and will be open from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. City resources and aid organizations will be present as well as representatives from PEMA, and other state agencies, including the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Department of Revenue, Department of Transportation, and Insurance Department. They can assist with vital documents, checking insurance coverage, trauma/crisis response and mental health resources, and more. Residents and businesses are encouraged to report property damages to the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management online at or by phone by dialing 3-1-1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
