On Friday, July 11, Pennsylvania authorities issued an alert to all residents announcing that they were experiencing a statewide 911 outage. As seen in the message from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) that residents received, the alert read, “Individuals experiencing issues contacting 911 are asked to contact their local 911 on their non-emergency lines. Check your counties social media and website for more information.”
Below, learn how a 911 outage will affect Pennsylvania state residents and updates on the situation as it unfolds.
What Should PA Residents Do With the 911 Outage?
Authorities in Pennsylvania encouraged everyone to contact their local on-emergency agencies by their county. The following is a list of counties in Pennsylvania currently affected by the outage and who resents should call in case of an emergency:
- Butler County: 724-282-1221
- Beaver County: 724-775-0880
- Armstrong County: 724-548-5105
- Faytette County: 724-430-9111
- Westmoreland County: 724-836-1551
- Washington County: 724-229-4600
BREAKING PENNSYLVANIA HAS 911 OUTAGE STATEWIDE pic.twitter.com/nro7FNpKXX
— DRR4G3 (@DRR4G3) July 11, 2025
What Is a 911 Outage?
A 911 outage is exactly how it sounds: an outage to the emergency call system. Therefore, resident experiencing an emergency are unable to contact 911.
How Does a 911 Outage Affect an Area?
If people experience an urgent matter or must report a crime, they’re unable to call 911 because of the outage. The consequences of this could result in widespread chaos, but a state or region can inform residents to call alternative numbers to report an emergency.
⚠️ The 911 system in Pennsylvania is having some outages across the Commonwealth. We are working with technical experts to resolve the issue and restore service as quickly as possible.
Please only call 911 for true emergencies. Do not call just to check whether it is working.…
— PA Emergency Management Agency (@PEMAHQ) July 11, 2025
Is the PA 911 Outage Over?
Residents in Pennsylvania were informed of the 911 outage in the afternoon. However, PEMA tweeted at 3:46 p.m. ET that the 911 system in the state “is having some outages across the Commonwealth” and that they were “working with technical experts to resolve the issue and restore service as quickly as possible.”
PEMA further informed residents to “only call 911 for true emergencies” and to “not call just to check whether it is working.” The agency also advised everyone to find their local 911 office at readypa.info/psaps.
At the time of publication, it appears that the Pennsylvania 911 system was still experiencing problems.
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