Major 911 outage wreaks havoc across state as police offer bizarre advice for those desperate to call cops, medics or fire crews

Massachusetts authorities say emergency 911 service has been disrupted statewide. 

State officials sent alerts to cellphones at approximately 2.30pm Tuesday afternoon to warn people of the 'major' outage.  

'The current 911 system is down statewide, if you have an emergency and need assistance pull your nearest Fire Box, or call the Boston Fire Department at 617-343-2880,' the Boston Fire Department said. 

'You can also get assistance by going to your nearest Firehouse.'

Massachusetts authorities say emergency 911 service has been disrupted statewide

It was unclear how many communities were affected, said Elaine Driscoll, director of communications and policy at the state's Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox advised the public to contact local police departments if they need help.

'In addition, if you're having any issues that are medical related, or EMS or fire-related, you can go and pull your local call box, that's the red light boxes that fire departments have on local street corners, to also get medical attention that way,' he said.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said residents shouldn't worry about calling the correct number or facility for their emergency, but to just reach out to their nearest authorities.

'If you are experiencing an emergency, if you find your way to police, fire or EMS, we will make sure that you get to the right place,' she said.

She said authorities were working to resolve the issue.

State officials sent alerts to cellphones at approximately 2.30pm Tuesday afternoon to warn people of the 'major' outage

Cox said the disruption 'could be very temporary.'

'But we thought it was important, particularly with the heat that we're about to experience, to make sure that we give people the opportunity to know what's going on,' he said.

Several years ago, Massachusetts suffered sporadic 911 outages. 

At the time, it was blamed on outages from Louisiana-based CenturyLink, which affected some Verizon customers.