Triple zero scrambles for pen and paper over power loss

Emergency call-takers reverted to pen and insubstantial for hours aft an unprecedented powerfulness outage that exposed a long-running flaw successful 1 state’s triple-zero system.

Triple Zero Victoria’s computer-aided dispatch system was plunged into acheronian astatine 12.30am connected Wednesday.

Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward confirmed the system was not wholly backmost online until 4am aft a 90-minute powerfulness outage.

The integer outage forced call-takers to trust connected pen and insubstantial to dispatch ambulances, constabulary and occurrence calls but each were connected.

“We’re still investigating this but … each calls were responded to,” Ms Ward told reporters astatine parliament.

It comes aft an outage for Optus customers prevented hundreds of triple-zero calls from connecting successful South Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and some parts of NSW.

Three deaths person been linked to the bungle connected September 18 when a regular firewall upgrade knocked retired exigency calls for much than 12 hours.

Victorian authorities are investigating the origin of the powerfulness outage that caused the integer shutdown and why a back-up powerfulness supply didn’t fire.

“It’s ne'er happened before,” Ms Ward said.

Triple Zero Victoria, formerly known arsenic the Emergency Services Telecommunication Authority, came under occurrence during the COVID-19 pandemic aft 33 Victorians died arsenic triple zero telephone answering times blew out.

Hexagon and Fujitsu were handed a $253 cardinal declaration successful 2024 to update the computer-aided dispatch system pursuing a 2022 review by erstwhile constabulary main commissioner Graham Ashton.

Mr Ashton recommended the system beryllium overhauled, declaring it would not conscionable the aboriginal needs of staff, exigency work agencies and the community.

Opposition exigency services spokesman Danny O’Brien said the state Labor authorities needed to beryllium wide connected when the next-generation system would beryllium up and running.

“This has been happening implicit the years clip and clip again,” the Nationals person said.

“It is simply a interest that radical mightiness not beryllium capable to get done oregon calls are delayed due to the fact that we’re having to trust connected pencil and paper.

“In the modern age, that’s conscionable not bully enough.”

Victorian triple zero operators were forced onto pen and insubstantial successful a akin incidental successful November aft the dispatch system crashed for two hours.

Ms Ward conceded the determination to manual dispatch “can beryllium slower” but said it remained a “really speedy system”.

“Around the world radical bash trust connected manual systems when something is not working arsenic it should,” she said.

“So I think that it would beryllium very risky and, successful fact, rather reckless to not person a fallback system successful spot that tin beryllium relied on.”

Source: AAP