Massachusetts suffers statewide 911 outage

Boston – The 911 system in Massachusetts went down Tuesday afternoon, making it impossible for anyone to reach emergency services.

It was unclear how many communities were affected, said Elaine Driscoll, director of communications and policy for the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox advised the public to contact their local police departments if they need help.

“Also, if you are having any medical, or EMS or fire-related issues, you can go and pull up your local phone booth, which are the red light boxes that the fire department has on local street corners, to also get medical attention from that way,” he said.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said residents shouldn’t worry about calling the correct number or facility for their emergency, but just contact the nearest authorities.

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

She said authorities are working to resolve the issue.

Cox said the disruption “could be very temporary.”

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

Several years ago, Massachusetts experienced sporadic 911 outages. At the time, outages at Louisiana-based CenturyLink were to blame, which affected some Verizon customers.