BOSTON — Massachusetts’ 911 emergency calling system was restored Tuesday after being down for several hours, preventing citizens from seeking urgent help.
Massachusetts State Police announced around 3:45 p.m. that the system had been restored and people could now call emergency services. He did not give details about what may have caused the fall.
It’s unclear how many communities were affected, said Elaine Driscoll, director of communications and policy at the state Executive Office of Public Safety.
When the outage occurred, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox asked citizens to contact local police departments if they need help.
“In addition, if you are having medical problems, a medical emergency or a fire, you can go to the local box, that is, the red box that is on the street corners, and you can also receive medical attention that way.” “, he pointed.
Cox said the disruption “could be very temporary.”
“But we thought it was important, particularly given the heat ahead, that we make sure we give people a chance to be aware of what’s going on,” he added.
Dozens of communities reported the collapse, but its cause was unknown. Several communities, including Boston, confirmed the fall and advised citizens to sound a fire alarm or call a police department directly.
“We have been in contact with the state and all relevant officials to work to resolve this,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a news conference about plans for the parade to celebrate the Boston Celtics.
He said citizens should not worry about whether they are dialing the correct number or agency, but simply contact the nearest authority.
“If you are experiencing an emergency, contact the nearest police, fire or rescue agency and we will make sure you are directed to the right place,” the mayor said.
A few years ago Massachusetts suffered sporadic outages in its emergency service. At the time, the incident was attributed to failures by CenturyLink, a Louisiana-based company, that affected some Verizon customers.
Source: AP
