Mercer County, Pa. - Pennsylvania's Emergency Management Agency said a software defect is to blame for the recent 911 system outage that impacted callers across the state earlier this month.

In a preliminary root cause analysis, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) said the issue stemmed from a routine software update by Comtech, a vendor that provides 911 infrastructure for several states.

The update triggered a defect in the system’s operating software, disrupting call delivery to emergency centers.

PEMA Executive Deputy Director Jeff Boyle called the incident a rare "anomaly," but said further investigation is underway.

"Technology is always troublesome," Boyle said. "It will fail you at some point."

Boyle said the state is working to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

"You do everything you possibly can to plan and prepare to prevent this from happening again," he said, "Technology is never 100 percent, but we’ve taken tremendous steps to test the system and will continue to do that moving forward."

Local officials echo that sentiment. Frank Jannetti, director of public safety for Mercer County, said his agency is closely watching for the state’s final findings.

"I'm very curious to know," Jannetti said, "When we get the official root cause analysis, we'll analyze that, see if any changes need to be made, and then resolve it from there."

Jannetti says the NG911 system is strong, but no technology is immune to failure.

"I don't think it's more or less vulnerable than any system we've had in the past," he said.

Both state and local EMA leaders emphasized the importance of preparedness.

They urge the public to save their county’s 10-digit 911 center number in their phones in case of a future disruption and stress, and they state that people should never test the system during an outage, as it can overwhelm emergency lines.

PEMA said a full report with more detailed findings is expected in the next two to three weeks.