Verizon services disrupted across county
'There was concern. People thought if, for example, they couldn't call from Hammondsport to Hornell they couldn't call us. That was not the case.' - Timothy Wixom Steuben County 911 coordinator
By MARY PERHAM THE LEADER

BATH - Emergency calls went through in Steuben County but residents and businesses in the region, stretching from Allegany to Broome counties were without Verizon phone or Internet service Tuesday.

Timothy Wixom, Steuben County 911 coordinator, said alarms went off in the 911 center Tuesday afternoon, signaling one of two Verizon routes at the center had gone off line.

Dispatchers put out a series of test calls to be sure emergency calls could still be received through the second line, Wixom said.

As added insurance, some 911 calls were first routed to Allegany County, then transferred to Steuben he said.

"There was concern," Wixom said. "People thought if, for example, they couldn't call from Hammondsport to Hornell they couldn't call us. That was not the case."

Some rural emergency response departments posted units at their stations until the tests indicated calls would go through, he said.

Wixom said the interruption came after a NYSEG backhoe hit a Verizon optic line somewhere northeast of Binghamton.

Verizon service in the area was restored around 3 a.m. Wednesday. About 600 NYSEG customers west of Hornell lost power Tuesday afternoon, in an unrelated incident, the Hornell Evening Tribune reported.

Although Steuben County's emergency calls were rerouted through a back-up line, other counties were not as fortunate.

In Tioga County, 911 dispatchers were alerted to the loss by an alarm, said 911 Supervisor Sgt. Steve Suvarney. But the system could not be switched to the back-up line which was located in a flooded basement, he said.

"So we had all calls forwarded to our seven-digit number," Suvarney said. "But we didn't miss any calls. And we've had a lost worse happen."