As millions across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama experienced widespread 9-1-1 service outages on September 25, 2025, Alarm Monitoring Services (AMS) maintained full operational integrity throughout the incident, dispatching alarms without interruption thanks to a robust redundancy and backup communication plan.

According to an Associated Press report by Sophie Bates, the failure occurred around 2:00 p.m. when a third-party vendor severed fiber optic lines that support the AT&T/Verizon backbone. The disruption caused intermittent failure of emergency call routing across multiple parishes and counties. Service was restored by 4:45 p.m., but many local 9-1-1 centers were temporarily unreachable, forcing public safety agencies to publish alternate emergency numbers.

AMS Owner Dera DeRoche-Jolet was first alerted to a possible outage by Steve Elmore of Custom Security out of Baton Rouge. “Steve asked if we were having trouble reaching 9-1-1,” DeRoche-Jolet said. “Our central station hadn’t reported any problems, so at first it seemed isolated.”

DeRoche-Jolet immediately contacted AMS’ central station supervisor, who confirmed that all systems were running normally. However, after another call from Elmore and reviewing reports online, DeRoche-Jolet discovered multiple outage alerts across the Gulf region and went directly to the monitoring center to investigate further.

At the AMS monitoring facility, the team found operations running “without a miss.” The Central Staton operators reported that when the 9-1-1 center number were not being answered they followed standard protocol. AMS’s central station swiftly switched to backup dispatch numbers, ensuring that every alarm was handled through alternate routing.

“Our backup plan worked exactly as designed,” DeRoche-Jolet said. “We were able to maintain full coverage for all clients. No alarms were lost, and no emergency calls went unanswered through our system.”

Local 9-1-1 centers reported the outage lasted roughly from 2:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m., with limited-service interruptions depending on the provider. Jade Gabb of the Ouachita Parish 9-1-1 Center confirmed that their center was affected during that timeframe.

DeRoche-Jolet noted that AMS received no complaints from its network of dealers or customers during the event. However, next-day “late-to-test” reports were unusually long due to the delay. “Those reports go straight to the system and aren’t acted on, but it showed how wide the disruption reached,” she explained.

Text notifications were also delayed 15 to 20 minutes due to network congestion, though all messages were successfully delivered. DeRoche-Jolet added, “Our cellular redundancy bank kept us operating. We never use personal phones for emergencies — our backup systems are company-owned and tested regularly.”

DeRoche-Jolet encourages other alarm dealers and monitoring companies to evaluate and document their own contingency plans.

“Every dealer should know our backup plan, and we need to know yours,” DeRoche-Jolet said. “If your lines go down, do you want alarms ignored, logged or held until service returns? We can only respond according to your plan. This outage proved that preparation makes the difference.”

DeRoche-Jolet recommends that all monitoring professionals become familiar with tools like downdetector.com, routinely verify alternate dispatch lines, and ensure that local authorities, customers and monitoring centers are aligned on emergency communication procedures.