Massachusetts 911 System Experiences Statewide Outage

Boston — A statewide 911 outage occurred in Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon, preventing residents from reaching emergency services.

The extent of the disruption remains unclear, according to Elaine Driscoll, director of communications and policy at the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox advised the public to contact local police departments if they require assistance.

“In addition, if you’re having any issues that are medical related, or EMS or fire-related, you can go and pull your local call box, that’s the red light boxes that fire departments have on local street corners, to also get medical attention that way,” he said.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu assured residents that they should not worry about contacting the correct number or facility for their emergency and to simply reach out to their nearest authorities.

“If you are experiencing an emergency, if you find your way to police, fire or EMS, we will make sure that you get to the right place,” she said.

She stated that authorities are actively working to resolve the issue.

Cox indicated that the disruption “could be very temporary.”

“But we thought it was important, particularly with the heat that we’re about to experience, to make sure that we give people the opportunity to know what’s going on,” he said.

Several years ago, Massachusetts experienced sporadic 911 outages. At the time, the outages were attributed to disruptions from Louisiana-based CenturyLink, affecting certain Verizon customers.