The emergency 911 service is currently down for all Manitoba communities except for Winnipeg, after the service went down at the dispatch centre in Brandon on Wednesday.
Residents in Brandon who need help should call the police non-emergency line at 204-729-2345 for an officer, as efforts are underway to restore service, Brandon police said in a warning on social media Wednesday afternoon.
Residents in other municipalities are encouraged to use their local 10-digit emergency phone numbers until the issue is resolved, the Brandon police social media post said.
The province sent out an alert via cellphones about the outage around 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday.
There are two primary 911 emergency dispatch centres in Manitoba: one in Brandon and one in Winnipeg.
The Brandon emergency dispatch centre also provides 911 service to communities across Manitoba outside of Winnipeg, serving seven police agencies and nearly 200 fire departments, including Brandon itself and many rural areas across Manitoba.
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Brandon Police Service communications specialist Janet Reichert said the police force is working with the City of Brandon and Bell MTS to get the service back up.
In a statement, the telecom company said it is investigating a suspected third-party fibre cut and is “working to restore service as quickly as possible.”
Both Brandon police and Bell said they will provide updates on the 911 service as they’re available.
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