Pennsylvania’s 911 system suffered an hours-long, statewide disruption on Friday that left emergency callers confronting dropped connections, missing caller-ID information and inaccurate geolocation data. The problem was first detected shortly after 2 p.m. at the Delaware County Emergency Services Center and quickly spread across the state, prompting PEMA to issue an emergency alert at 3:30 p.m. advising residents to use non-emergency numbers if calls to 911 failed. PEMA Director Randy Padfield said the outage was intermittent and tied to incomplete calls carried on the state’s internet-based Next Generation 911 network, operated by a third-party contractor. Engineers ruled out a recent software update as the direct cause but continued to probe an IT fault within the provider’s system. Several counties reported delayed or rerouted calls, and officials urged the public not to place ‘test’ calls that could overwhelm dispatch centers. Governor Josh Shapiro said the state was “on top of the issue,” and county agencies circulated seven-digit administrative lines while urging residents to reserve 911 for true emergencies. With more than 13 million people potentially affected, police and fire departments staffed stations to handle walk-ins, and broadcasters repeated alternative contact numbers throughout the afternoon and evening. PEMA announced just after midnight on Saturday that full service had been restored following system-wide tests with county call centers. The agency and its contractor are conducting a technical review to prevent a recurrence of what officials called an unprecedented failure of the state’s upgraded 911 infrastructure.