Sheriff's Office: All phones down Tuesday night, including 911 Center

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office says they're facing an emergency situation Tuesday night, September 18th as all phones are down.

This includes the 911 communications center and the computer network.

A Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman told FOX6 News the outage began around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.

911 calls at the MCSO communications center have been transferred to Waukesha until the issue is resolved.

911 calls coming in are being routed to Waukesha's dispatch center, and Waukesha dispatch is getting in touch with MCSO sheriff's communications officials via cell phones, and then using radio technology to communicate with deputies in the field.

The Sheriff's Office radio network is still working.

A Sheriff's spokeswoman told FOX6 News Waukesha's dispatch center is seeing more calls Tuesday night, but they are handling them. Two Milwaukee County dispatchers were moved to Waukesha County to help deal with the increased call volume.

The city of Milwaukee's website and email communication is also down Tuesday night.

A Sheriff's Office spokeswoman says members of the public need not do anything differently when calling 911, saying the problems are on the Sheriff's Office's end, and 911 calls will be answered.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this story.