On September 21 Atlanta’s 911 center lost its dispatch computers around 9 p.m. Atlanta police told the public to drive to the nearest hospital, precinct or fire station. Operators wrote calls on paper, and calls moved to the Fulton County center. The same building had lost its backup power in June.
Four days earlier, a hidden software bug took 911 down for 87 minutes across six Canadian provinces, starting at 3:13 a.m. In August a California city of 30,000 shut off its whole network, 911 included, to stop malware from spreading.
None of the three was an attack. 911 fails from the inside more often than from an enemy, and it fails at night. When one center goes dark, the calls pile up at the next county’s desks.
Three moves for one evening. Get the direct ten-digit lines for your police, fire station and sheriff, and write them on a card. Drive to the nearest hospital, precinct and fire station at night and time each trip. Put a pair of radios on the counter with a neighbor on the same channel.
Today’s SITREP has the warning signs and the full plan. 📞