Massachusetts Police, Fire Report Statewide 911 Outage

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(TNS) — The 911 emergency system was back up and running across the Bay State Tuesday afternoon, according to local police and fire departments.

911 was down for about two hours.

“911 Operating System is back up and running,” Boston Police posted at 3:42 p.m.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said the State 911 Department had been aware of “a disruption to the 911 system and is investigating the cause.”

“UPDATE: The Massachusetts 911 system has been restored,” the state agency posted at 3:43 p.m. “The public may now resume calling 911 for emergencies. Thank you for your patience + cooperation. The State 911 Department continues to investigate the cause of the disruption.”

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Agencies starting letting the public know about the outage at around 1:45 p.m. Tuesday.

“The current 911 system is down statewide,” Boston Fire posted. “… if you have an emergency and need assistance pull your nearest Fire Box, or call the Boston Fire Department at 617-343-2880.

“You can also get assistance by going to your nearest Firehouse,” the fire department wrote.

Boston Firefighters Local 718 IAFF added, “While this incident is concerning and stressful to many, fortunately in Boston we proudly maintain the first in the nation telegraph fire dispatch system. This system has withstood the test of time and emergency since 1852 and incidents such as today’s underscore its resiliency and necessity.”

Boston Police told residents who need help to call their local police district station.

“ Boston Police will be patrolling with their blue lights activated for high visibility,” BPD posted.

Other police and fire departments across the region were also letting residents know of the outage.

“We have been made aware that there is an issue affecting the 911 system statewide,” Wilmington Police posted. “If you need to contact us, please call our business line at 978-658-5071 and press option 1 to be connected to our Dispatch Center.”