Massachusetts 911 service restored after 'major' outage statewide

The 911 emergency dispatch services in Massachusetts were restored Tuesday afternoon, officials said, after the system was unavailable for more than an hour and a half because of a "major" statewide outage.

The state's Executive Office of Public Safety and Security posted a message on the X platform around 3:45 p.m. ET saying the system was working again after the prolonged disruption.

"The public may now resume calling 911 for emergencies,'' the posting said. "Thank you for your patience + cooperation. The State 911 Department continues to investigate the cause of the disruption. We will provide more info when available.''

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu had confirmed the outage in a press conference, saying she hoped it would be momentary and encouraging residents with emergency needs to "find your way to police, fire or EMS. We will make sure you get to the right place.''

Residents could also call the local numbers for their police department or use one of the local call boxes on streets.

Many state residents had received a public safety alert on their phones saying, "Massachusetts 9-1-1 SERVICES are currently down Statewide. Delays in public safety response may occur. CALL local Public Safety business line directly if you or others are having an emergency. More information will be provided when available.''

"This could be very temporary, and we're waiting to hear about how long it will last," Police Commissioner and Chief of Boston Police Michael Cox said at a press conference. "We thought it was important, particularly with the heat, to give people the opportunity to know what's going on."

The Brockton Fire Department was one of the first to notify the public about the outage. Boston’s Chief of Emergency Medical Services James Hooley said the local, non-911 system used to take incoming calls was still working.

"Any information that gets entered by any of the agencies ... we send each other message, we talk on a radios," he said. "As long as it gets in the system, we will be able to connect you to the right service."

Wu reiterated that if people get in touch with one of the agencies, they will be routed appropriately, "so don't worry about needing to have the exact right number as this is getting resolved, hopefully very quickly."