Fire causes phone troubles in county
Last updated: April 9, 2015 - 3:02pm
ORANGEVILLE - Hospitals, school districts and the county lost phone service Thursday when a tree fell, starting a fire in a phone company's fiber optic cable near here, officials said.
Patricia Amendola, communications manager for Frontier Communications, said fewer than 10 customers had service knocked out. But those customers were some of the area's largest employers.
Berwick Hospital Center and Bloomsburg Hospital's phone lines were all down, said Brenda Remaley, 9-1-1's deputy director. So were the phone lines at Berwick Area School District, and some at Bloomsburg School District. Wise Foods also lost phone and Internet services, Remaley said.
Columbia County Courthouse's lines were also out.
However, 9-1-1 lines, which use Verizon as a phone carrier, remained operable, she said.
The Press Enterprise also was unable to receive phone calls due to the fire.
Amendola said phone service should be completely restored by 4:30 p.m.