You can still contact emergency services during a 911 outage

On April 17, law enforcement officials in multiple states, including Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota and Texas, reported temporary outages to 911 emergency services. The outages, which prevented some people from being able to call or connect to 911, were restored within a few hours on April 18.

During the outage, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that calls from landlines to 911 and their non-emergency hotline were not working. But the department could still see the numbers of those who called from cell phones, and they were able to call them back right away.

After the outage was restored, Lumen Technologies, a telecommunications company that provides enhanced 911 services in several states, said that workers installing a light pole in Missouri cut into a fiber line, knocking out 911 service for emergency agencies in Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota.

The loss of service in Texas was unrelated to the outages in the other three states. Officials in Del Rio, Texas, said the difficulties some people experienced making 911 calls there were apparently because of an outage involving a cellular carrier, not the city’s 911 system.

Calling 911 is typically the best way to get in contact with first responders during an emergency, but are there alternatives if there’s an outage?

THE QUESTION

Are there other ways to contact emergency services during a 911 outage?

THE SOURCES

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
• National 911 Program
• National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
• Textedly
• South Dakota Department of Public Safety
• Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
• City of Del Rio Police Department in Del Rio, Texas
• Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office in Kearney, Nebraska 
• Douglas County, Nebraska 
• Howard County Sheriff’s Office in Saint Paul, Nebraska
• Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency
• Justin Kates, president of the International Association of Emergency Managers, USA Council

THE ANSWER

Yes, there are other ways to contact emergency services during a 911 outage. 

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WHAT WE FOUND

If you’re experiencing an emergency and you’re unable to call 911 during an outage, there are other ways to contact emergency services.

The National Emergency Number Association (NENA, The 9-1-1 Association) told VERIFY almost all 911 services are managed and run at the local level under an umbrella public safety agency, like a police department, sheriff’s office or fire department. These agencies usually have other ways they can be contacted.

Before the April 17 outage was restored in multiple states, law enforcement and public safety officials in Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota and Texas recommended using the methods below to reach emergency services:

• Call the non-emergency police line in your area.
• Use alternative numbers to reach first responders, such as the direct line to the local police or county sheriff’s office.
• Use a landline, Wi-Fi calling or another cell carrier if a cellular service issue is responsible for the 911 outage.  
• Send a text to 911, if the service is available in your area. The Federal Trade Commission (FCC) provides a list of areas currently supporting Text-to-911 on its website.

Text-to-911 is available statewide in 19 states, including Arizona, California, North Carolina, and Maryland, according to Textedly, a software company based in Los Angeles. Textedly says all the other states, excluding New Mexico, are currently in the process of implementing Text-to-911 services statewide.

If Text-to-911 services are not available in your area, the FCC says you should immediately receive a bounce-back message from your cellphone provider telling you that the text message was not delivered.

“It’s definitely recommended to call 911 because there’s a lot more information that can be passed between you and the 911 operator. But if no other means exist, texting, and it’s still able to get through, [is] definitely a good thing to have in your toolbox,” said Justin Kates, president of the International Association of Emergency Managers, USA Council.

To be prepared, Kates recommends saving the non-emergency and alternative numbers for your local law enforcement and public safety agencies in your contact list if you’re ever unable to call 911. You can also sign up to receive text alerts or social media notifications from the first responders in your area to find out the best way to reach them if there’s a 911 outage.

“Most public safety organizations, including your local emergency management office, will have some sort of an emergency alert system,” Kates told VERIFY.

“In most cases, one of the things that they will do during a 911 outage is they will send out an alert to let people know what to do, whether it’s to call the local non-emergency number, or maybe to call a different phone number that they’ve set up for contingencies. That’s a great way to stay informed in the event [of a 911 outage],” Kates added. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

This story is also available in Spanish / Lee este artículo también en español: Aún puedes contactar a los servicios de emergencia durante una caída del 911