AT&T: A BURST
STEAM PIPE IN THEIR AKRON SWITCHING OFFICE LED TO THE OUTAGE. THE BURST PIPE SPRAYED WATER OVER ELECTRICAL
EQUIPMENT. 911 SERVICE RESTORATION UNDERWAY IN AKRON-CANTON AREA
AKRON, Ohio -- Multiple counties in Northeast Ohio are
reporting outages with their 911 systems, including Medina, Portage, Stark and
Summit counties.
Crews are working to restore service. According to
AT&T spokeswoman Holly Hollingsworth, customer service was expected to
begin around 9 p.m., though a time for complete service restoration was not
given. She said a burst steam pipe in their Akron switching office led to the
outage.
Mike Scott with the Akron Fire Department said the burst
pipe sprayed water over electrical equipment.
The six-story building, located on Bowery St., is
equipped with backup generators, but they were of no help. Battery backup
systems failed as well. That's when phone lines and cell service went down.
Scott said all new electrical equipment, including at
least one generator, had to be brought in to help and that an emergency command
center has been set up as well.
An AT&T source who said he was not authorized to
talk said "it is a lot more complicated" than bringing in a
generator. He said communicating within the communications company has been
tough because they do not have phones to talk with each other.
The AT&T outage disrupted phone service at Kent
State University, including emergency services, according to spokesman Eric
Mansfield.