Suffolk 911 System 'Fully Functioning': County

YAPHANK, NY — The issue involving 911 calls made by Verizon wireless customers to Suffolk police call centers was rectified at around noon, county spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said.

"The disruption to our 911 call system has been rectified and 911 is fully functioning," she said.

Emergency services was not affected, according to Guilfoyle.

"We were still able to utilize the 631-852-COPS number to be able to dispatch emergency services," Guilfoyle said. "And then some people were able to obviously get through to 911 as well."

The disruption was attributed to a Verizon equipment failure, police said.

The restoration came on the heels of the department reporting an intermittent issue with its 911 system, as a "cellphone carrier issue."

"There is no issue with Suffolk County equipment or the 911 system. This is a carrier issue and we are working with the carrier to resolve the problem," officials said in a statement early Tuesday.

The county-wide "intermittent issue" was reported by police at around 6 p.m. Monday night concerning "at least one known cell phone carrier" involving disruptions with callers reaching 911 call service centers.

Suffolk officials notified residents on Monday in at least four emergency alerts since the disruption — one at around 6:30 p.m., the other just before 9 p.m., and another two almost immediately after.

Patch has reached out to Suffolk Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services.

The Nassau County Police Department is not affected by the disruption, a spokeswoman said Monday night.

During the disruption Suffolk residents were urged — if they called 911 and received a fast busy signal — to hang up and immediately call 631-852-COPS, the department's non-emergency line.

Prompts would then direct them to their police jurisdiction.

Suffolk police have jurisdiction up until the borders of the Hamptons and the North Fork where those East End departments are independent, with the exception of some services.

While the Suffolk was experiencing the 911 system disruption, the department's computer assisted database, which is tied to live calls, allowing the public information bureau to help the media with active calls, is up and running.

Riverhead police also reported an issue with 911 at around 4:35 p.m.

Riverhead residents were told contact police through 911 can call 631-727-4500.

Like Riverhead, other agencies reminded residents that they could contact them directly. Southold police asked residents encountering issues to call 621-765-2600 to speak with a dispatcher directly

The Bayport Fire Department dispatchers, who also dispatch for the Blue Point Fire Department and Sayville Community Ambulance, can be reached at 631-472-4411.

"If you’re having issues with 911, call us directly," a post read on Facebook.