UPDATE: 911 service restored in Okanagan
UPDATE: 7:45 p.m.
E-Comm has confirmed that 9-1-1 calls for the Okanagan, and other areas, are once again coming through to the emergency communications centre.
At approximately 2:30 p.m. today (May 5), E-Comm was made aware of a 9-1-1 system disruption that impacted callers in the Regional Districts of the Central Okanagan, North Okanagan, Okanagan-Similkameen, Thompson-Nicola, Columbia-Shuswap, Squamish-Lillooet (North), Central Kootenay, East Kootenay and Kootenay-Boundary.
During this time, callers were directed to call the police non-emergency lines to receive help from police, fire or ambulance. No other regions were impacted by this service outage.
E-Comm said the cause of the outage is currently under investigation with TELUS technicians continuing to work through the night. Further details will be provided in the coming days.
Anyone experiencing an emergency situation requiring immediate response from police, fire or ambulance should dial 9-1-1 for assistance.
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UPDATE: 6:40 p.m.
Reports from emergency officials say 911 service has been restored in the Okanagan.
Penticton’s fire chief tweeted out the good news about two hours after E-Comm reported the service went down, saying 911 is back up and working.
911 Update: 911 is back up and working! Just heard from ECOMM that the system has been restored! All normal for emergency calls.
— Penticton Fire Chief (@pentictonfire) May 6, 2022
Kelowna Fire dispatch also confirmed service had been restored.
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Original story: 4:35 p.m.
911 service disruption in Okanagan
Residents in the Okanagan are currently not able to access 9-1-1 service.
E-Comm, which operates the service, says the cause of the disruption is not known.
“Technicians are working with TELUS to determine the root cause and restore service as soon as possible,” the company said in a news release.
Until further notice, E-Comm is advising the public in the South-Central Okanagan to call their local 10-digit police non-emergency line if they have an emergency for which immediate action is required such as if someone’s health, safety or property is in jeopardy or a crime is in progress.
All local non-emergency numbers can be found at: nonemergency.ca. To keep non-emergency lines free for emergency callers, residents of the Okanagan are asked not to call with non-urgent matters at this time.
Non-emergency reports can still be made through online reporting at nonemergency.ca.
While the news release stated the outage was affecting the Central and South Okanagan, Vernon Matters has been told it also affects parts of the North Okanagan.
If urgent help is needed, call 9-1-1 in case service is restored. If you get a busy signal, call your local non-emergency line.
Vernon North Okanagan RCMP local non-emergency numbers:
Greater Vernon – (250) 545-7171
Armstrong – (250) 546-3028
Enderby – (250) 838-6818
Falkland – (250) 379-2311
Lumby – (250) 547-2151
Due to a recent Telus outage primarily affecting land line service in the District of Coldstream, 9-1-1 may be disrupted. If urgent help is needed, call 9-1-1 in case service is
restored or use a mobile phone. If you get a busy signal, call your local non-emergency line.
Coldstream Fire Hall: (250) 545-2096
Lavington Fire Hall: (250) 542-6878
RCMP: (250) 545-7171
It is recommended that residents NOT report non-emergency matters at this time.
Kelowna:
Police 250-762-3300
Fire 250-469-8801
West Kelowna:
Police 250-768-2880
Fire 250-469-8577
E-Comm said 9-1-1 service is functioning normally for all other areas of the province.