July 11, 2025
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency is working to restore 911 service after intermittent outages were reported statewide on Friday afternoon. The cause of the service disruption is under investigation.
Pennsylvania's 911 emergency service lines are experiencing technical issues statewide, officials said Friday afternoon in an alert that went out to millions of residents.
A text message warning was sent out just before 3:30 p.m. advising that 911 calls may not connect due to intermittent outages. The cause was not explained.
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"We are working with technical experts to resolve the issue and restore service as quickly as possible," the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said in a post on X.
PEMA is urging people to only call 911 in the event of true emergencies. People who can't get through and need emergency service are advised to call their local 911 offices directly.
The non-emergency lines in Philadelphia are 311 and 215-686-8686, which both connect to the same line. Residents also can call their local police districts, the department said.
The numbers for the surrounding counties are as follows:
• Bucks County: 215-328-8500
• Chester County: 610-436-4700
• Delaware County: 610-565-6575
• Montgomery County: 610-635-4300
Philadelphia officials did not immediately respond to questions about whether its 911 dispatch services have been impacted.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he has been briefed by PEMA on the outages.
"We are on top of the issue and working to restore full service as quickly as possible," Shapiro said. "In the meantime — stay calm, follow the directions of PEMA and local authorities.".
