Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania officials report they have fixed the statewide 911 disruption

Published

12 months ago

July 12, 2025

Pennsylvania officials report they have fixed the statewide 911 disruption

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency reported that 911 services have been restored in the commonwealth, though the cause is still under investigation.

The statewide NextGen 911, which provides the network services for the commonwealth, detected a situation around 2 p.m. Friday where calls were intermittently failing to be delivered, according to Randy Padfield, director of Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. This was originally detected with calls going into the Delaware County 911 call center.

PEMA officials said they worked late into the night with county 911 offices and tech experts “to restore this critical emergency service to its full capacity.”

“We worked with counties to fully test that the system is operational,” PEMA officials said on its Facebook page. “Please do not call 911 for testing purposes; leave lines open for true emergencies.”

Bob Dowd, director of the Lebanon County Department of Emergency Services, said that all 911 call delivery services to Lebanon County have been restored as of 11 p.m. Friday evening.

Padfield said the issue was “an anomaly” for officials that work with the NextGen 911 system, which he described as working flawlessly through issues that include severe weather events.

“It could be a software issue, it could be a hardware issue,” he said in a press conference Friday. “What we know is that it doesn’t appear to be the result of a software update that was pushed, based on our communications with the Next Gen 911 service provider.”

PEMA reported that officials were still identifying the root cause of the issues with the system, and said they would update residents to a cause “as soon as we can.”

This is an ongoing story. Please check back for updates.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth.

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Pennsylvania

Fire tears through recycling center in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, officials say

Published

5 hours ago

July 2, 2026

Press Room

Fire tears through recycling center in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, officials say

Frederick Sutton Sinclair

July 2, 2026 / 7:39 PM EDT
/ CBS Philadelphia

A fire ripped through a recycling center in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Thursday evening, emergency officials said.

The fire erupted around 6 p.m. at a Doylestown Waste Recycling building on 1510 Swamp Road. The facility mainly recycles construction debris, according to the company’s website.

Chopper 3 was over the scene as firefighters battled flames at the heavily damaged building. Large plumes of smoke could be seen from miles away.

CBS News Philadelphia

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

No injuries have been reported.

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Pennsylvania

Why are flags at half-staff today? Why they’ll stay lowered in PA

Published

15 hours ago

July 2, 2026

Press Room

Why are flags at half-staff today? Why they’ll stay lowered in PA

Flags are flying at half-staff across Pennsylvania today after Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered them lowered statewide to honor Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira, who died in the line of duty in Schuylkill County.

Shapiro ordered flags fly half-staff at Pennsylvania facilities, public buildings and grounds — the United States flag and Pennsylvania flag — to honor Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira, who died in the line of duty in Schuylkill County.

Pahira died after being struck by a tractor-trailer while conducting a commercial vehicle inspection along Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County, authorities said. A Massachusetts truck driver has since been charged in the crash, and flags will remain at half-staff until the date of Pahira’s interment, which has not yet been announced.

Why are flags at half-staff today in Pennsylvania?

Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered flags across Pennsylvania to fly at half-staff in honor of Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira, who died in the line of duty July 1. The order applies to Commonwealth facilities, public buildings and grounds statewide and remains in effect until his interment.

What’s the difference between half-staff and half-mast?

The difference between a flag flying at half-staff and half-mast depends on where the flag is flown. In the United States, flags on land are lowered on staffs, while half-mast traditionally refers to flags flown from ships and at naval stations ashore.

Who was Trooper Michael Pahira?

Pahira was a Schuylkill County native and nearly 20-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police, authorities said. He enlisted in January 2007 and was assigned to Troop L in Frackville as a Motor Carrier Inspector. He was 44 years old and became the 106th member of the Pennsylvania State Police to die in the line of duty.

What happened to Trooper Michael Pahira?

State police said Pahira was conducting a commercial vehicle inspection along Interstate 81 southbound in Schuylkill County when a second tractor-trailer left the roadway and struck his marked patrol vehicle and the truck he was inspecting before hitting him. Both commercial vehicles caught fire after the crash. Pahira was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities said a Massachusetts truck driver has since been charged with homicide by vehicle in connection with the crash.

How long will flags be lowered?

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered US and Pennsylvania flags fly half-staff today and through the date of interment, or the burial or entombment of Pahira following his funeral.

Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based reporter covering trending news with USA TODAY Network’s Mid-Atlantic Connect Team. She covers news in the Northeast, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Reach her at LComstock@usatodayco.com.

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