Pennsylvania is experiencing “intermittent” statewide 911 outages, officials confirmed on Friday.
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) Director Randy Padfield said the intermittent connectivity issues are affecting the Next Generation 911 network statewide, with some calls going through normally while others lack vital information like location coordinates or callback numbers.
The problems began around 2 p.m. when 911 calls to Delaware County’s dispatch center started failing sporadically, prompting an immediate investigation by the state’s service provider.
“This is not a full outage, but an intermittent issue,” Padfield said. “We’re treating this with an abundance of caution.”
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The state has activated a conference bridge with all public safety answering points (PSAPs), PEMA staff, and 911 system vendors to monitor the situation. Officials have issued both a Wireless Emergency Alert and an Emergency Alert System message to inform the public.
Padfield said residents who can’t reach 911 should call their local seven-digit emergency number, where dispatchers are standing by to assist.
While technicians work to identify the root cause, Padfield said they don’t believe it was caused by a cyberattack or software update. The system, which includes multiple layers of redundancy, “has performed flawlessly through severe weather and high call volume situations,” he noted.
Officials urged the public not to test the system with non-emergency calls, as each hang-up requires investigation by 911 centers.
