The county’s 911 phone lines were back up and running early Friday after an overnight update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike caused devices around the globe to malfunction, officials said. The matter was not a security incident or cyberattack, CrowdStrike officials said in a statement.
“CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website,” said Angel Badagliacco, director of public relations for the cybersecurity company.
“We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”
The outage disabled devices using Microsoft Windows around the world, causing airlines to ground flights, 911 outages across several states and more internet technology issues, according to media reports. Cybersecurity experts say it was the largest IT outage in history.
Locally, the incident hit the sheriff’s 911 phone lines, along with the agency’s administrative and non-emergency lines, and caused a delay for a Breeze Airways flight. The police departments in Vero Beach and Sebastian, which have their own dispatchers, were also impacted by the outage.
The phone lines malfunctioned about 1:30 a.m. Friday and were restored by 5 a.m., said Sgt. Kevin Jaworski, a spokesperson with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies urged residents in emergencies to utilize the county’s ‘text-to-911’ feature during the outage.
A Breeze Airways flight from Providence, Rhode Island to Vero Beach was delayed by nearly an hour on Friday because of the mishap, said Todd Scher, airport director for the Vero Beach Regional Airport. The returning flight from Vero Beach back to Rhode Island was pushed back for about two hours.
“We were affected, but only one flight,” Scher said.
Cleveland Clinic officials said the global outage impacted some technology and that patient care was not affected. Representatives said the hospital continues to provide care at all of its locations.
Sebastian River Medical Center was not affected by the technology malfunction, the hospital said on its Facebook page. The hospital, emergency room and physician offices remain open.
Jaworski said no major emergencies happened during the time of the outage in Indian River County.
“Luckily it happened in the least busy time of the day,” Jaworski said.
Ryan Lloyd, deputy director of emergency services, said officials were not aware of any missed 911 calls during the outage. Lloyd said any 911 calls placed during the disconnection would have been rerouted to other channels.
The Indian River County Department of Emergency Services oversees the entire 911 system in the county. The department’s ‘text-to-911’ feature was not impacted by the worldwide outage, Lloyd said.
The emergency services department implemented the ‘text-to-911’ feature in April 2022. Emergency service officials said customers with the four major wireless carriers – AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon – can send a text with up to 140 characters to 911 in emergencies.
The feature gives people who are deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired direct access to 911 services. Emergency service officials said ‘text-to-911’ should only be used in emergency situations when individuals are unable to make 911 phone calls or placing calls would put them in danger.
Jaworski said the sheriff’s dispatch center handles calls for fire rescue and emergency medical services throughout the county. The center also takes calls for Fellsmere and Indian River Shores.
Lloyd said emergency service officials will continue to work in conjunction with law enforcement agencies to monitor the 911 system.
Steps to using text-to-911
Provided by Indian River County Department of Emergency Services
- In the first text message send the location of the emergency, type of emergency, and your name.
- Enter the number “911” in the “To” field
- In the “Message” field, enter the location of the emergency, the type of help needed (Police, Fire, Ambulance) and your name
- Push the “Send” button
- Silence your phone if you are in a dangerous situation.
- Text in simple words – Send a short text message in English, do not use slang or abbreviations. Keep messages brief and concise.
- Do not use Emoji’s, Bitmoji’s, GIF’s or JPEGs.
- Do not text and drive. Please pull over to a safe location and stop your car before sending a text to 911
- Be prepared to answer questions and follow instructions.
Things to remember
- Text-to-911 cannot include more than one person. Do not send your emergency text to anyone other than 911.
- A text or data plan is necessary to place a text-to-911
- Text-to-911 is not available if your phone is roaming.
- As with all text messages, messages to 911 may take longer to receive, may get out of order, or may not be received at all; if you do not receive a text response from 911, try to contact 911 another way.
- Do not send photos and videos; not all carriers are able to forward.
- You will get a “bounce back” message if you are in an area where the service is not available telling you to make a voice call.
- Text-to-911 service is not available everywhere in Florida and the U.S.
- It is a crime to text or call 911 with a false report.
- Prank-texters can be located.
More information on the text-to-911 feature can be found on the Federal Communications Commission website.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
